The End, The Beginning
by dreadlord789
Summary: The 4th Shinobi war is lost. Obito, the Juubi's Jinchuuriki is about to cast his Eternal Tsukuyomi and take dominance over the whole world, but through the manipulation of a jutsu, the Kyuubi might have a way to change it all.
1. The End

**AN: Just a heads up that i HAVENT abandon this fic. I have told everyone that i will be busy for a while, and believe me i am busy. However, while re-reading some of my chapters, i have noticed many mistakes that have either been pointed out to me or that I have found. I also found some loopholes that i wanted to clear up, so for a little while i will be revising some aspects of my stories. The essentials wont be touched, just some things clarified or some fights extended, since those seemed a bit boring to me... and I wrote the damn thing... Anyway, the next chapter will be up soon enough, so please be patient with me!**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto or anything associated with it.**

**Chapter 1**

Under the moon, a blonde haired teenager struggled to keep himself standing on his own two feet. He had reached his limits, and even the great Kyuubi himself had no more strength left to fight.

'Why did it have to end like this? *sniff* It just isn't right! I don't want this to happen; I just wanted to live in peace with everyone… to have everyone be happy… I failed them all…' the young blonde thought as he lay in a growing pool of his own blood. He barely was able to lift his head up to find a scene like one he had never even witnessed before in his darkest nightmares. Obito, the Juubi's Jinchuuriki and the newly self-proclaimed Rikudou Sennin, was killing the young blonde's friends one by one using some strange black mass surrounding his body to pierce their hearts. He spared no one, killing all from the youngest of Gennin right up to the Kages themselves. It was no longer a battle, it was a one sided massacre. Even those who had attempted to flee were not shown the slightest bit of mercy.

Obito watched Naruto try and stand up before collapsing back to the ground. While he held no inclination to sympathize with the young shinobi, he felt the boy needed an explanation as to why. He didn't pity him; he simply wanted to share some of his pain, to have someone else feel as he felt. He slowly descended towards Naruto and knelt down to whisper in the boy's ear, "This is the fate of those who would try to stop me. I already told you that you couldn't protect them. I gave you all more than one chance to avoid all this bloodshed, but in your ignorance you blindly marched them all to their dooms. Now submit and be reborn in my Infinite Tsukuyomi. All your pain and suffering will…"

Obito was cut short when two kunoichi jumped at him and tried one last attempt to end his life. He didn't even need to turn around and face his attacker as he now held the Rinnegan, allowing him a full field of perfect vision. He knew that one of the young shinobi with dark purple hair and what looked like the Byakugan; would try and use a chakra infused palm strike to shred his heart to bits with an attack to his back. He couldn't help but shudder at the sickening smell of lavender the purple-haired shinobi was giving off, it sickened him. He knew that immediately after the purple-haired girl's attack failed, the other shniobi with pink hair and teal eyes would try to take Naruto and run, a foolish gesture that at best would only delay the inevitable.

"GRAB NARUTO AND RUN, SAKURA!" Hinata screamed as she put every ounce of her chakra into her attack aimed straight at Obito's heart.

"Utterly pathetic." Was the only thing Obito said when he morphed the black fluid into sharp spikes, simultaneously piercing both their hearts before they could reach either of their intended targets. Both kunoichi looked in shock as the pain registered before they collapsed. With some satisfaction he watched as the two, whom seemed very close to the Kyuubi's host, fell into pools of their own blood.

Naruto could only stare as a person whom had confessed her love to him had now been killed right in front of him, again. Tears began streaming down his face as he jumped to Hinata, but was unable to reach her in time before she collapsed to the ground. A swift chop to the neck from Obito sent Naruto cascading to the ground, and there he came face to face with the only person who ever truly loved him.

'I guess I was just too weak after all. Everyone was right, I am a failure. I never even got to talk to Naruto-kun again' thought Hinata as she slowly gave into the darkness full of regrets.

Naruto looked around from his position on the ground. He saw the bodies of everyone he ever knew, and some whom he had just met recently. He also saw Sasuke and his team, also lying dead by Obito's hands just as he had decided to return to Konoha. His thoughts then trailed to the Biju who had trusted Naruto to defeat the Juubi and restore peace to the world.

"Well, it would seem that there are no other distractions left to deal with. As much fun as this has all been, I must now finish what I started." Obito sneered as he began to raise himself above the ground, confident that the boy would soon bleed out.

He put his hands together and began to mold all the chakra he could, focusing on the moon now high in the night sky above the barren wasteland where the Fourth Shinobi War had just ended.

Obito felt a tear of happiness fall from his right eye 'Finally after all these years I will finally be able to see Rin… To hold her… To tell her how much she meant, no MEANS to me…'

With his chakra molded he shouted "INFINITE TSUK-"

'NO, I CANT LET THIS HAPPEN!' screamed Naruto into his mind.

**'I think I might know a way around this. I don't really like the thought of being trapped in an eternal genjutsu for the rest of my life.'**

'KYUUBI! THANK KAMI YOU'RE OKAY!'

**'Good Kami Naruto. Calm down. If you don't concentrate now, then we will both be lost forever. Now, if I were to tell you I MIGHT have a way to get us out of this, would you take it?'**

'Sorry. Just… whatever it takes, bring things back to the way they were! I don't care what happens to me; just bring everything back to the way it was!'

**'Good, we can really use that mentality. Now listen: long before I was sealed inside of you I was a part of the Juubi, a different one than the monster floating up there. I… *thinking back to the other Bijuu that made up the current Juubi* WE, we're intelligent and didn't just mindlessly destroy. You must understand Naruto, we were never, and still are not, evil beings who crave destruction, so naturally it pained us to see the humans kill each other over something as petty as land or wealth. So when we met with the Rikudou Sennin we all came to the conclusion that should we be sealed inside of the Sage, he could use our power and create a new world of peace. After the sealing he created all ninjutsu and genjutsu, spreading our knowledge of chakra around the world. This did little to end the wars, and instead fanned the passions of the humans, but that is a story for another day. After the Juubi was split, the knowledge of the Rikudou Sennin was also split proportionally according to our power, so naturally I would hold more memory than the Hachibi and so on and so forth down to the Ichibi. One thing that I did remember was a peculiar jutsu that would allow the ninja to condense the space around a small area. With more chakra added one could theoretically make the small space so incredibly dense that he would create a small rift, a crack if you would, allowing one to travel through that wrinkle and go to the past. Naturally no one would ever have the chakra needed to do such a feat, besides us, the Rikudou Sennin, and that prick up there, though I doubt he would be able to figure the jutsu out without my guidance. So let me ask you, Naruto, are you willing to exchange everything and try to re-write the future by going to the past?'**

'That sounded cliché as hell Kurama…' this elicited a low growl from a very pissed off fox '…but as I've already said, I would do anything to change this hellhole!'

**'Before we start I will use some chakra to stop the bleeding and bring the pieces of your heart together, though this is a far cry from actually healing the entire injury, it will only be temporary. There, now, let's do this. You will mold as much of our chakra as you can, and I will do my best to direct it to create the rift.'**

'Hnn'

Naruto strained as much as he could, feeling Kurama start the jutsu, sucking out more chakra than he ever thought possible. He felt a cold sensation run up his legs and down his arms. His vision began to get cloudy, as his peripherals began to go dark. His mind was going blank, and he could feel an odd, yet peaceful, sensation take ahold of him.

**'HANG IN THERE BRAT! DON'T YOU DARE GIVE IN NOW OR I SWEAR TO KAMI I WILL TAKE IT UPON MYSELF TO TORTURE YOU FOR ETERNITY ON THE OTHER SIDE!'**

'Heh… never thought… you would care about me… that much…' Naruto's voice began to get quieter and he began to slur his words.

Tears began to run down Kurama's fur-lined eyes, barely able to contain his sadness at the thought that he might lose the only host to not hate him for just existing.

**'I… don't… you stupid… brat…'**

'You… never were a good… liar… Kurama'

Suddenly, Kurama sent his remaining chakra into Naruto to bring him back from the Shinigami, as they now both stared at a hole large enough for the two of them to travel through.

'Is that…'

**'Yes, it's our ticket to the past!'**

'But where will we end up?'

**'Not even I know that. Like I said, we would have to give up everything and gamble that we would be able to prevent this from ever happening again.'**

'Fair enough. LET'S DO THIS!'

**'There's the Naruto I know, let's go.'**

_**AN: So there is chapter one, please read and review! Now a few questions, since this is a brand new story should i have any pairings? (be forwarned, im a NaruHina fan... so dont flip out if i spend a little time developing their relationship.) I am open to anything NO YAOI! so,**_

_**1) any pairings, will keep track. NO... YAOI...**_

_**2) wouldn't mind if someone has any spare time, i could use someone to bounce ideas off of. But remember, I will be the final say, so yeah...**_

_**3) I have an end in mind, and i wont abandon this unless i am forced to, and please keep in mind that I am quite busy with college work, so be patient.**_

_**Thanks Everyone!**_


	2. The Beginning

**AN: Second Chapter of the revised story. Hope everyone enjoys it!**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto**

**Chapter 2**

They crawled through the hole before them letting go of any hesitation, and were soon falling down into the dark abyss. They passed through time and space itself, marveling at the cosmos around them as they watched the creating and death of the universe around them. They fell for what seemed like an eternity, finally seeing the other end as little more than a small tear in the fabric of the universe. As they grew ever closer they heard all to familiar screams and panicked shouts, obviously coming from a battleground. As they came crashing through the tear Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see his mother and father impaled on a claw of the Kyuubi. Naruto then came to the realization of when eaxctlly he had come from, and soon found that tears were involuntarily running down his cheeks. Naruto watched as he listened to his parents' last words to him.

"Naruto… Just do everything your mother just said…" Minato Namikaze whispered, barely audible as the last moments of his life came to an end.

**'Damn, I'm sorry Naruto, I had no idea that we would come to this point in time, when I was still one vengeful son of a bitch.'**

A few moments passed as the barrier around the ritual site began to fade away, and allowing those from the outside to finally enter. Naruto watched as Hiruzen Sarutobi, more commonly referred to as the third Hokage, stepped towards his now dead successor and his wife with tears streaming down his eyes. He slowly approached and gently closed Minato's still open eyelids, saying a silent prayer for the two young heroes. He then silently approached the newborn and scooped Naruto into his arms, curious as to why the child had stopped crying only moments before.

Hiruzen turned to his ANBU guards, "Take Minato and Kushina to the Hokage office so we can prepare a proper funeral for them. What you have just witnessed is now the most dangerous secret we will have to keep, especially for this little one, and if anyone of you tells a soul of these events, you better be sure there will be hell to pay. Furthermore, I want one of you to gather the council for an emergency meeting. Now go." As they were about to leave Hiruzen had one last thought, "AND MAKE SURE THAT BASTARD DANZO IS THERE!"

With this Hiruzen took the young blonde and began to make his way to the council chambers, needing to decide the best way to handle this sudden turn of events. He knew that there were some on the council who would call for the boys immediate execution, while others, namely Danzo, would want to train the boy to be a killing machine for the betterment of Konoha.

Naruto just closed his eyes as tears began to cascade down his cheeks once again.

'It's ok Kurama; I never held this against you. It doesn't make this any easier though. I know that over the years we have been together you have changed for the better. All I can do now is stick with our plan and try and save my… Our world.'

**'Arigato. Now I think I should explain the consequences of us being in your infantile body again.'**

'Consequences? What do you mean? Why would there be consequences?'

**'Well, for one, we are now occupying a body that previously had a soul inside already. All we did was take over the consciousness of this body, it's not like the "you" from this time would just fade away into nothingness. In fact, he might come forth later on in time, it's just that it is too young to be able to process that its body was taken.'**

'So what does that mean about all our previous chakra reserves and all my jutsu…? I don't want to think about re-learning the Rasenshuriken again…'

**'From what I can tell our huge reserves of chakra have begun to merge with this body. It's kinda like taking a huge lake and stuffing it inside of a container only able to hold a puddles worth. Lucky for us this container is so young that the chakra coils are able to expand at an incredible rate, so this body won't burst from the huge influx of chakra…yet.'**

'…So I still have all my old chakra?'

***sigh* 'Yes Naruto, right now I would say that you have the chakra reserves of… well at least at the level of a kage, if not more. Keep in mind that this body still has yet to grow, so the coils will continue to grow, increasing your chakra reserves even more.'**

'So then is the seal still there? What would that mean if I tried to draw out your chakra too?'

**'Yes, the seal is still there, but you still have access to my chakra, so you can go Kyuubi-Chakra Mode, both stages in fact. But should you so choose you could also go into the Jinchuuriki Form for more agility and… well… for a more "savage" fight, should you so choose.'**

'YES! THAT'S AWSOME! I can't believe that I still have so much strength, even though I'm still only about a day old! I can't wait to-'

He was cut short but the abrupt stop of Hiruzen as he entered his office and made his way to the meeting room. The look on the Hokage's face reminded Naruto of the sobering events that had taken place that night, and just how many had died to stop Obito.

**'Listen well Naruto, this will be your only chance to find out what actually happened that night.'**

Naruto just grunted in reply.

As Hiruzen entered the room, he was pleased to see that everyone was actually there, well some of the civilian council members weren't there, but he figured that would probably be better they weren't since this was a shinobi affair.

As soon as Hiruzen entered with Naruto in his arms Danzo stood up and immediately started questioning the retired Hokage.

"Would you mind telling us what this is all about? Unless you didn't know we have more important things to do than just sit around talking. The Kyuubi could come back to the village any moment and begin the attack anew. Now, where is Minato? He should be here to regroup and try and stop the Kyuubi!"

Hiruzen shot Danzo a glare. It wasn't a normal look; it was full of the most evil intentions and killer intent the young Root commander had ever felt. Should Hiruzen have wanted, Danzo was sure he would have been pierced through the heart then and there. As soon as the look began however, it ended as Hiruzen spoke softly, looking down into the eyes of the only thing left of his former successor with the tenderness and compassion of a father.

"Minato and his wife are dead. They gave their lives to seal the Kyuubi inside this child, thus saving our village. Unfortunately this also means that their legacy here in my arms will have to be kept a secret from everyone, lest Naruto become a target. This child is now doomed to be loathed and hated for a reason he had no control of, and while he should be hailed as a savior, he will be hated and avoided like a leper."

Everyone could only stare blankly as the man spoke. They were too dumbstruck to actually say anything. A good while passed before anyone spoke, and ironically, it was the same person who started the meeting with a sudden outburst. This time, however, Danzo was sure to speak in turn and with respect.

"This truly is a dark day. We have lost many fine shinobi, along with our Hokage and his wife. We can't wallow in misery while our village is in disarray. Someone has to take command, so we must now choose the next Hokage, and-"

He was cut off by Shikaku, head of the Nara clan, and quite possibly the smartest man in the room, not to mention the most shrewd.

"I nominate Hiruzen. Seeing as how he already has experience as a Hokage, it is the only rational choice left to us. We can't upset the already confused state we find ourselves in. How does everyone vote?"

Hiruzen looked around as almost everyone nodded yes in agreement, Hyuuga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, Aburame Shibi, Yamanaka Inoich, Akimichi Choza, Inuzuka Tsume, and obviously Nara Shikaku. The only one who seemed upset by this outcome seemed to be Danzo himself, along with a number of the civilian council members who were obviously under the influence of Danzo.

'Not only did our Hokage just die, but a good number of out shinobi, and NOW you make a bid for the position of Hokage?' Hiruzen thought as he watched the man seethed in anger in his seat.

"I reluctantly accept, only for the sake of our village. My first order as Hokage is that the events discussed tonight are to stay in this room, the fewer people who know about this boy the better. If his father can't protect him than by Kami I sure as hell will try. On that note I want no fewer than two ANBU to watch this boy at all times, to protect him and keep him safe from other villages. Kakashi, come in here."

At the Hokage's command a man in a fox mask came in and immediately bowed to the new Hokage.

"Kakashi, I want you take this boy to the orphanage in Konoha. I want you to then get a sizable wardrobe for him along with at least 250,000 Ryo from the Sarutobi treasury. This money will be put towards an apartment for the child, but in the meantime he will stay at the orphanage until I order otherwise. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." The ANBU replied before taking the child from the Hokage's arms and leaving the room immediately to complete the Hokage's orders.

Hiruzen sighed as he watched Kakashi leave. As he did Shikaku leaned towards him and whispered in his ear.

"Are you sure that is wise? The Villagers will eventually figure it out, and his life will be hell if he has to depend on others during his childhood."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement before saying, "Hai, that it will be, but that is precisely why it must be done. Minato wouldn't want his child to be kept from his village, locked away in some distant place like a demon. Besides, it is only temporary until I can find him his own place, then I will have someone I trust watch over him and take care of him until such a time as he is capable of taking care of himself." Hiruzen now turned around to address the rest of the council. "Now that that is over, I hereby adjourn this meeting. We must now rebuild Konoha before other countries hear of our temporary weakness."

"Hai Hokage-sama" the council responded in unison before filing out of the meeting room.

**_Back to Kakashi_**

'I can't believe they are leaving my sensei's son to the orphanage. Those people are little better than scum who underfeed the children there just to pocket the extra money they get from the village. I will have to make sure to visit Naruto after I visit Obito's grave everyday. I don't trust those people any further than I can throw them.'

The ANBU kept muttering to himself as he completed the Hokage's orders and dropped the child off at the orphanage where he would "temporarily" reside. Kakashi left to fulfill the rest of his orders, but not before dropping some not-so-subtle threats to the workers as to what might happen if Naruto was mistreated in any way. Many of the workers there felt a chill go crawl down their spine as they saw Kakashi remove his mask and reveal is Sharingan eye to solidify his threat.

'Wow' Naruto thought as he recounted the events of the night. 'I mean, I knew that old man Hokage was kind to me, but not to this extent! I guess I wasn't as alone as I thought I was. Even Kakashi-sensei still cared enough about me as a baby to try his best to protect me at the orphanage.'

**'Guess you're right, but from here on out, until you graduate from the academy, it's just the two of us. Be forewarned, this time around I won't let my container be the dead-last dobe. You will be a respectful, and hopefully, an intelligent shinobi before you even reach the academy. So until you can freely move around to practice Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, I will work on your… intelligence; starting with basic algebra and Kanji. We will slowly move up from there. I refuse to have another embarrassing repeat of the chunnin exams where you stared at a blank page for a full hour; I am the strongest of all the tailed beasts and as such MY host won't be some village idiot!'**

'I get the intelligence-dobe thing, but what the hell does math and kanji have to do with me?'

**'And here I thought that your dream was to become Hokage. I don't think the council will choose someone who can't even do basic arithmetic to be Hokage, no matter how strong they are. You will be in charge of handling everything from the villages economic status to the development of new trade agreements.'**

'Ok, ok. Point taken. Well when do we start your grand plan?'

**'Tomorrow. I have neither the energy nor patience to begin teaching you tonight. So rest well kit, we are both tired from that jutsu we performed not too long ago. We are both near chakra exhaustion as it is, and the only reason we have yet to collapse mentally is because of the chakra we were able to incorporate into our systems from the new body we are in.'**

'Hai, Kurama'

**'That's Kurama-****_SENSEI_****'**

'Hell no!'

***Sigh* 'Fine, I guess it would get weird if we started getting all formal.'**

**_5 Years Later_**

'Ugh, why are we doing this again?'

**'Dammit Naruto! Pay attention and don't make me explain this again!' **Kurama could tell that the young blonde was hardly paying attention, so after a loud growl he began again. **'I told you before; we should take this opportunity to train in EVERY type of jutsu, not just ****_Fuuton_****_(wind jutsu)_****. Granted you are pretty good in ****_Fuuton_****, but if you can train in all the other different elements, then your proficiency as a shinobi will rise even more!'**

'But I thought that you had to have an affinity with a certain element to be able to use it?'

**'Then tell me why Kakashi was able to use jutsu in several elements?'**

'Good point. But you still haven't really explained this well for me. I thought the deal was if I spent five years studying with you I would be able to learn more about ninjutsu and genjutsu?'

**'Don't insinuate that I went back on my word. Just shut up and listen. So since you are a Fuuton user, tell me what would happen if you used your ****_Futton: Rasenshuriken_**** against a ****_Katon_****_(fire jutsu)_**** that only had about half the power of your ****_Rasenshuriken_****?'**

'Well… I guess they would cancel each other out… But that would have to be one hell of a _Katon_ to stand a chance against my _Rasenshuriken_.'

**'Precisely. But that same ****_Katon_**** could be canceled out by a ****_Suiton_****_(water jutsu)_**** that had only had half the power as said Katon, and by extension would only require about a quarter the power of your ****_Rasenshuriken_**** required. Got it yet?'**

'Yeah, I guess so… this is still pretty boring'

**'Impudent little… Anyway, so as I was saying; it is impossible to have an affinity for all the elements, but one COULD use a jutsu from every element. Due to the individual shinobi's affinity that particular school will be stronger, as in your case with ****_Fuuton_**** jutsus. If you were to become proficient in every element, then your overall usage of jutsu would become several times greater, which would also mean your regular ****_Rasengan_**** would be just under the level of a ****_Rasenshuriken_****.'**

'That is some of the best things I have ever heard!'

**'That would only happen if you were to get EVERY elemental jutsu up to around mid-Jounin level, which I think is a little out of reach for you for now. Instead I think you should focus on becoming proficient up to the level of low to mid-Chunnin level. That should be able to be accomplished before you graduate from the academy. Speaking of which, I need to talk to you about the academy.'**

'What about it?'

**'Well it's about how many times you failed it. If you would go into it again you should be able to do all that is required in a year, but knowing you, you would want to be in the same class as the rest of your little friends.'**

'You have a point, and I don't think I like how you refer to them as "little", it just seems a little mean to me. Other than that, yeah that does present a problem, but I think I have a solution. I would just hold out on joining the academy. From what I remember, entering the academy is a choice given to each individual after they reach a certain age, so I will just join the academy the year every else is supposed to graduate, and then sweep them all away! It'll be fun!'

**'Whatever floats your boat. Now, let's begin the training. First things first, run 100 laps around Konoha!'**

'What the hell!? I knew you were up to something, that is NOT Ninjutsu or Genjutsu!'

**'A strong mind, and by extension strong chakra, comes from a strong body. Now get running or I won't teach you a damn thing!'**

'Grrrrrr… fine.'

As Naruto started running he began to sense that there were several ANBU running with him.

'Hey Kurama…'

**'I already knew. This just makes it more interesting! Outrun them or the deal is off for the day until you are able to ditch them.'**

'… I really hate you.'

**'Feeling is mutual.'**

So for the next several years Naruto's training began in earnest. For a while he was unable to outrun the ANBU that were assigned by the Hokage to watch him, so, true to his word, Kurama wouldn't teach his host anything. Eventually Naruto was able to outrun the shinobi, much to their displeasure, and so Kurama would then have Naruto settle into a training routine. Every day it would begin with laps around Konoha to once again lose his ANBU escort, though they wouldn't really chase him too much, deciding to leave Konoha's "demon" to the mercy of anyone he came across. Every few months or so another hundred laps would be added to the routine as Naruto became faster. To make it more difficult, he was forbidden to use chakra to enhance his muscles or use jutsu of any kind, he instead had to run just as any other person would in order to build up his leg strength and stamina. The first few days after the training schedule increased he would be too tired to even start training with Kurama, and simply called it a day to play around with the other kids in Konoha and enjoy something like that of a childhood, though the dirty looks and threats never seemed to stop. After his training regimine included some five hundred laps he was instructed to then purchase chakra weights for his arms and ankles, and now instead of adding more laps, the weights themselves were now increased, much to Naruto's frustration.

When he finally got enough stamina to continue after the running, it would go straight into training his ninjutsu, while being careful to escape the watchful eyes of the ANBU, ducking into a sewer or losing them in the forest. It wasn't too long until the ANBU would purposefully stop watching Naruto, and soon left him alone all together.

The Ninjutsu training would usually be some simple _Doton (Earth jutsu)_ jutsu, since this seemed to be the one Naruto had quite a bit of trouble with, being a _Fuuton_ user. It would then go into _Katon_, which Naruto would find more success with. At first he would barely be able to produce more than a small ball of fire from his _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Great Fireball) _but the course of a month he progressed into making a blazing fireball several meters in diameter with ease. After _Katon_ he moved into _Suiton_ where he found the most success outside of _Fuuton_. He was able to summon huge waves from pure chakra, much like the Nidaime Hokage before him, from his _Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Great Waterfall Technique)_ after less than a week of training, and so began to work on other higher classed techniques. After his success with _Suiton_ it was time for frustration with _Raiton (Lightning jutsu),_ which over the months of intensive training evolved into a palmed electrical strike aimed at the heart which could incapacitate an enemy for some time. If Naruto focused his chakra to high enough levels he could pierce his opponent, using his incredible speed to add more strength to his attacks, much like Kakashi's _Raikiri, _though this drained a large amount of Naruto's chakra reserves. Of course he would also work on his _Fuuton _techniques, creating some while revising some others.

The years changed Naruto; he soon stopped having his hair cut, so it grew long down to the middle of his back, while still retaining its spikiness. After an unfortunate accident in his _Katon_ training resulting in a large portion of his hair going up in smoke, he made sure to keep it neatly tied behind his back whenever he decided to train. Being forced with so much chakra as a baby also forced his growth a bit, so while he wasn't the tallest boy his age, he was no longer the shortest, which pleased Naruto greatly. His mind and senses became sharper as Naruto and the Kyuubi became even closer in the body they shared, though his eyes would never measure up to a full-fledged sharingan, he would still be able to observe minute details. He also was more muscular than any child his age should have been, due to his intense training that would leave Gai and Lee stunned. Naruto also became calmer and collected with his thoughts, carefully thinking about situations he ended up in rather than jumping in head first.

His training with the Henge came in handy more than once when Naruto could sense a large mob forming, mostly men stumbling out of the local bar. More often than not said mob would turn towards Naruto, hoping to vent their problems by giving the child a fierce beating, but they could never find him. More often than not they found an older man with orange hair and multiple piercings on his face come walking out of the closest alleyway and away from the mob.

The one thing Kurama was able to do was to convince Naruto to do was change his clothes a tad, though he still stuck with the orange color. He now had a black shirt with the Uzumaki crest on the back in bright red, with orange flames running up the shirt from the bottom, stopping around his stomach. His pants were also black, and it had taken several more days for the Kyuubi to convince Naruto that the color orange just didn't fit a ninja, and so had managed to stop Naruto from having orange stripes sewn up the sides of his pants.

By the time Naruto was 11, he was ready to enter the academy and display his new-found skills to the world, especially those of his class who once thought he was just a simple moron, especially Saskue.

Naruto walked up to the ninja academy, almost bursting with excitement.

**'Calm down kit, you can't do anything to blow our cover. If the other brats found out about your power, they might avoid you out of fear, or worse, tell one of the higher ups.'**

'Don't worry Kurama.' Naruto said with a huge grin as he pushed the Academy doors open, 'This is gonna be a blast!'

**END**

**AN: Well hope you enjoyed it, i wont be as fast with the chapters anymore. Could still use more constructive criticism though! I also have a few questions for anyone who wants their voice to be heard!**

**1) Pairings? If there are no objections i will do slight NaruHina, just cause i think there is so much that can be done there. If anyone has a better idea, or has a serious reason why i shouldn't then i might not, otherwise...**

**2) Well, lets just say that a 5 year old with kage level power will be able to change two important events from the past when he was a kid, hint, they have to do with the Uchiha and Hyuuga. If you know what they are and you DONT want them changed, let me know and i might not do it and have it a bit more canon**

**3) Review?**

**Thanks Everyone!**


	3. A Different Childhood

**AN: The third revised chapter. Added some more scenes and elongated some others. I personally think that it makes it better, but you all tell me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**_Chapter 3_**

Walking through the doors sent a chill down Naruto's back, as though hit with déjà vu. It all just seemed so familiar to him. He slowly made his way to his intended classroom ignoring the obvious glares of the Chunnin instructors that passed him by, meeting their glares with a smile full of enthusiasm and happiness, causing them to double take. When he reached his classroom, he jerked open the door with a loud thud and strutted into the room confidently, knowing he obviously had everyone's attention. There were several gasps at the young blonde's appearance. His hair now reached his mid back and still retained its spiky nature. His face was stripped of any fat from his intense training, characterizing his jaw line even further. The thing that stood out most however, was his azure eyes, which even the most hardened Saskue fangirl couldn't help but stare into. Upon the arrival of his newest student, Iruka stood up.

"Ah, it seems like this is the newest addition to our class. He has opted to hold off on joining the academy until this year, and we have decided to put him in the same year as all of you. Now if everyone would please help me give a warm welcome to Uzu-"

He was cut off mid-sentence as Naruto took it upon himself to finish his introduction.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it, because someday I WILL be the Hokage, and as Hokage I will protect both my village and my friends!"

This caused a large portion of the class to roll their eyes at the arrogance of the blonde shinobi, save one who hoped that he just could do it. After a few moments of shock Iruka decided to speak again.

"Aherm… well, thank you for the introduction Naruto. You may take a seat in the back so we can start class."

'And I hope you do fulfill your dreams Naruto-kun…' A certain pale-eyed girl with deep purple hair thought to herself, blushing when Naruto's eyes fell upon her. She quickly turned her attention to the ground to avoid his gaze, which she could still feel as he approached her.

'What a moron. Why would he strut into class and spout off that crap? *sigh* He at least should wait a few days so everyone doesn't just avoid him like some weirdo…' Sasuke thought to himself.

Naruto walked to the back of the classroom slowly, knowing full well that he still held the eyes of most of the girls, despite his little speech just a few moments ago.

'Pffft, I don't know why all these girls are fawning over that slob when Sasuke-kun is right here!' A pink-haired girl thought to herself, eyeing Saskue with a gleam in her eye.

**'Looks like that girl still has a one-sided relationship with Saskue, it's a bit disturbing.'**

'Of course she does, this is the past remember? Though I will have to talk to her later about it. I'm all for the two of them, I think personally that they might make a good couple. Plus I might be able to get Saskue to fall for all that "rebuild the clan garbage" since she will be one of the best medic-nins since Tsunade.'

**'Either way, it seems that you are a bit more popular with the human females this time around.'**

'Ha, I thought for sure that my little speech would put off most of the girls. Oh well, I don't mind a little extra attention. I guess it wouldn't be bad to find out what it's like being mobbed by fangirls like Saskue for a day or two.'

Once Naruto got to the very back he took a seat next to a furiously blushing Hinata, still looking down at the ground. After a few minutes of awkward silence, much to Naruto's frustration, he decided to be the first one to speak.

"Hello Hinata-chan, how are you? How is the old man?"

Hinata brought her head up just barely enough to be able to see Naruto when she lifted her eyes up as far as they could go.

"I-I'm f-fine Naruto-kun! T-Thanks for asking. H-Hiashi-sama is fine. H-He f-found out t-that we were going to be in the s-same class and w-wanted me to t-tell you that you are w-welcome over any t-time!"

After she answered she immediately turned her head back towards the floor, trying her best to not faint.

Naruto almost felt bad, looking at this small girl who had almost fainted at the mere prospect of being able to talk to him for less than 30 seconds. He decided that he would definitely have to spend at least some time with her to fix her nervousness and give her some confidence in herself. This time at least he knew why she always stuttered around him, thinking back to her confession during his battle with Pain. Naruto still had mixed feelings about it, now that he had ample time to think on it, she WAS one of the most attractive kunoichi he had ever met, not to mention she unconditionally loved Naruto, even after she found out he had Kurama sealed inside of him. At a young age Naruto decided that he would try spending more time with Hinata, and see how he felt about her. After these thoughts Naruto put a hand on Hinata's shoulder before continuing.

"I might just take you guys up on that offer! Thanks a bunch Hinata-chan!"

That was the final push that sent her over the edge, unable to bear being so close to him, not to mention that was the second time he called her 'chan'. She fainted there drifting into a comatose state as she remembered how she first met Naruto.

_Flashback_

_It was a dark moon-less night and a single Kumo-nin stealthily made his way across the Konoha rooftops, thinking he would easily make it back to Kumo unharmed, with the coveted Byakugan safely in his arms._

_Not an hour earlier he was the observing the Hyuuga compound, watching the heiress to the clan slowly make her way to her bedroom to retire for the night. As soon as she was alone inside her room he silently broke in and knocked her out before she even knew there was someone else there. As he tied her up and left the compound he got the nagging suspicion that someone was following him, though every time he checked he found nothing._

_He quickly made his way towards the section of the wall he had been watching the past few nights, knowing the guards rotation and finding the blind spot. Every time he leapt across a rooftop he thought he heard another pair of feet bound across the same rooftop. Of course, when he turned his head toward the direction the noise came from, he found nothing._

_As he leapt over the wall and into the forest surrounding Konoha, he felt a wave of relief, knowing that he had accomplished the hardest part of his S-ranked mission. Kumo would now have the famed Byakugan! Though the original plan was to acquire the Sharingan, but that Uchiha Itachi had to go and ruin the mission years in the making. Fortunately it was easy to change focus to the other Dojutsu._

_'Raikage-sama will be so pleased with me! I might just be able to retire early and-'_

_The ninja was cut off with a swift and powerful kick to the face sending him flying towards the ground. It was the most painful kick he had ever felt in his life. While crashing to the ground he noticed that the girl that was supposed to be in his arms was replaced by a log._

_'What the-'_

_His thoughts were again cut short by another hard punch to his face just before he hit the ground, sending him parallel to the ground and causing him to fly headfirst towards one of the many huge trees that were characteristic of Konoha. Just before he hit the tree a leg crashed into his gut, forcing him down the last few feet into the ground, leaving a sizable crater._

_Naruto watched from atop the trees as his Kage Bunshin dealt with the intruder. Seeing that he was being handled easily, Naruto turned his attention to the unconscious girl in his arms. He lightly patted her cheeks trying to get her awake, and slowly, she opened her eyes. The picture to her was like that out of a fairy-tale, a handsome young man with long blonde hair blowing in the slight breeze was holder her in his arms under the now moon-lit night, looking at her with the most gentle eyes she had seen since her mother's death. She felt a blush slowly creep across her face, still staring into the eyes of her savior. It took a few moments for her to realize that the boy was speaking to her._

_"Hey, are you ok? Oi, are you awake?"_

_"H-Hai"_

_"Thank Kami, I'm glad you are ok. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. You were kidnapped by the Kumo-nin that came to visit with your clan the other day. Don't worry you're safe now, I won't let him take you."_

_"A-A-Arigato, Naruto…-kun…"_

_With that she drifted back to sleep, happy that she was still being held so close to this mysterious boy. Naruto looked up from Hinata and saw that the Kumo-nin was steadily rising out of the crater, glaring at his Kage Bunshin with as much killer intent as he could muster before charging._

_"Damn Gaki! You'll pay for that! I'll make sure you are withering in agony before I kill you!"_

_The Kumo shinobi didn't make it too far before he felt a swift chop to the back of his head. Doing everything in his power to not black out he quickly kicked in the direction of the attack only to have his foot caught. Looking back he saw the same kid standing exactly where he was earlier, and turning again he saw a clone of the same kid holding his leg._

_"Kage Bunshin huh? Not bad for a Gaki. Too bad for you though, it just means I have to kill you before you could become a threat to Raikage-sama. Now be good and let me run you through!"_

_The Naruto clones thought a moment before answering in unison._

_"I don't think he would like one of his ninja, one that he must have total faith in to be able to trust you with a mission of this importance, threatening a child like this. You bring shame to Kumo shinobi everywhere by losing complete control of your emotions on such an important mission."_

_This just further infuriated the ninja as he attempted to take out the clone holding his leg. Before he could kill the clone the clone quickly brought up his elbow and broke the ninja's leg before quickly jumping back to let the ninja wallow in his pain and anger._

_"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW OF RAIKAGE-SAMA!?"_

_"heh, more than you, I would think."_

_"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"_

_"I know that the Raikage is a vindictive bastard, though he cares for his shinobi above all else, even his little brother, despite the fact he is to be a Jinchuuriki."_

_This scared the Kumo-nin, the fact that B-sama was to be a Jinchuuriki was an S-class secret, even B himself didn't know yet, so how could this random leaf Gaki?_

_'I have to kill this Gaki at all costs… he is far too powerful and knows far too much… I have to kill him, for Raikage-sama… for Kumogakure.'_

_The real Naruto, still holding Hinata, was pleased with the way the battle was progressing._

_'If my clone can manage to knock him out than we can capture him and prevent the death of Neji's father, hopefully pulling that stick out of his ass.'_

**_'It's more like a tree if you ask me'_**

_This comment caused Naruto to chuckle slightly, thinking of just how right Kurama was._

_'Well, either way it'll be best for everyone. Hopefully Hinata will have a better childhood if her cousin doesn't hate her guts. The Raikage can't exact revenge if we catch his ninja red-handed and return him unharmed… Well… mostly unharmed.'_

_At this point Hiashi Hyuuga arrived on the scene with Byakugan fully activated to find his daughter in the arms of the demon-child of Konoha, though at this point the kid looked more like he was protecting Hinata the same way a parent protects their child from an enemy. It was only after this observation that he saw the Kumo-nin, in pretty bad shape with what looked like a broken leg and several internal injuries from what his eyes could tell. He was about to approach Naruto when the Kumo-nin began shouting hysterically._

_"IF I CAN'T FULLFILL MY MISSION IN LIFE THAN I WILL DO IT IN DEATH!"_

_The ninja than began making several hand seals before he opened his vest to reveal himself covered in explosive tags. The ninja ignited the tags, taking him, and what he thought was Naruto to the other side._

_'DAMMIT' Naruto screamed in his mind 'WHAT AM I GONNA DO NOW!?'_

**_'Calm down. There is nothing we can do anymore. The Raikage will demand vengeance, just as he did in the past… well, er… I guess it would be the future.'_**

_Naruto was clearly distraught, feeling that he had let down both Hinata and Neji, dooming them to experience suffering and pain needlessly._

_Hiashi was confused as to why the ninja would sacrifice his life to take out a few Kage Bunshin but he paid it little attention when he remembered his daughter. He quickly jumped over to Naruto, still cautious of the boy who had just toyed with a Jounin and backed him into a corner with only suicide as an escape. When he approached he began to speak in a firm tone, seeming to snap the boy out of some sort of mental haze._

_"I, Hyuuga Hiashi, am deeply indebted to you for saving the life of my daughter, Uzumaki Naruto. From here on out you will always be welcome in our clan. There shouldn't be any problems from the elders either, and if they try to fight me on this I will simply state that you also saved the Byakugan from falling into the hands of Kumo.'_

_Naruto nodded and gently handed Hinata to Hiashi and began to turn away to return to Konoha before stopping to address the man once more._

_"I only want two things from the Hyuuga, Hiashi-sama, and one thing in particular from you"_

_Hiashi raised an eyebrow at the child's words. They just seemed too… old… coming from someone so young. He thought that he should at least humor the boy._

_"Continue."_

_"First, I want you to always treat Hinata with the gentleness of a father, and not the cruelty of a clan head."_

_This caught Hiashi by surprise. This only seemed to strengthen his curiosity. He just had to know what else the boy would ask for._

_"And your second request?"_

_"I want you to treat Neji as well as you can, as you and I both know that the Raikage will demand vengeance, and so your twin brother will be sent in your stead to die."_

_Whatever surprise existed in Hiashi before was nothing compared to the shock he now felt. 'How had this child found out so much of our clan, especially him in particular? It was almost as if-'_

_Before he could finish his thought he was cut off by the boy._

_"And my request of you Hiashi-sama, is to never tell anyone the events of what happened here tonight. I don't want you to investigate the claims I have made either. To do so would dishonor yourself and your clan for not adhering to the simple requests made from one who had just saved the heiress to the Hyuuga clan. If anyone should ask just say you fought the nin until he committed suicide in an attempt to bring you down with him. When Hinata awakes and asks you what happened, simply tell her it was all a dream. Do you agree?"_

_"I see no reason as to not. But only on the condition that you would at least spend some time training with Hinata. She could greatly benefit from sparring with a… fighter… of your level."_

_"Fine. So long as you do the things I ask."_

_With that Naruto jumped away to continue his training with Kurama, leaving Hiashi alone to his thoughts, which ironically weren't that complex, as he only had one thing on his mind at the time._

_'What the HELL just happened!?'_

_End flashback_

Naruto tried getting Hinata awake, but there wasn't anything he could do to wake her from her pleasant dream. He shrugged and decided to see what the class was about, only to be disappointed to find out that they were reviewing the past Hokages and listing their accomplishments.

'Hahaha, to bad I've met all the past Kages already! Hashirama-ojisan was pretty cool, but his brother was a dick. He seemed to have the personality of a stump. Wait… you know who he reminds me of Kurama?'

**'The Uchiha brat over there?'**

'How did you know? Wait… never mind…'

**'Whatever, this paltry education is merely for appearances, you simply have to barely pass all the tests in order to be on the same team. If you displayed above average qualities you wouldn't be on the same team as the past.'**

'I know, I had forgotten about how they assign teams until a few years ago. They take the worst, the smartest, and the most talented.'

**'Right, but you would be all three of those categories, so naturally you have to act like, well, like a dobe.'**

Naruto grimaced at that prospect, not looking forward to how long it would take everyone to stop calling him "dead-last" or "dobe". Well, almost everyone would make fun of him, except for the purple-haired girl sitting next to him, who now wore a very mischievous smile on her face as she still dreamt.

**'Anyway, I think that your academic studies have progressed far enough for us to begin the second stage of your training. You have been able to bring all of your elemental jutsu's to high Jounin level, and we will continue this training, but now will add a special twist.'**

'And what kind of "twist" would that be Kurama?'

**'You will have to wait and see. After the academy go out into the forest like we normally do and I will explain everything there.'**

'Hai.'

The rest of the day progressed smoothly enough for Naruto, though he found whatever the teachers had to say a bit boring, usually going over the basics like the essence of chakra and how shinobi molded it into jutsu. During the lunch break he was able to talk to all his old friends, well new friends they would be now. He had noticed that Ino was a lot friendlier with him than he remembered, along with some of the other girls in his class. He tried not to pay them any attention as he searched for Hinata but she seemed to never be around, though he would often catch glimpses of her watching him from behind a tree or from behind the academy building. After lunch everyone filed back inside to begin class again. Naruto decided to take this opportunity to lay the foundation for his interactions with Hinata now, rather than later.

"Why were you avoiding me during lunch Hinata-chan? I tried looking for you, but every time I thought I found you, you were gone. Did I do something to make you upset with me?"

The girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, totally not expecting the sudden chain of questions. Caught off guard she didn't have a chance to think about her answers so she almost blurted out her response.

"I-I could n-never be angry with you N-Naruto-kun! It's j-just that you were s-surrounded by a b-b-bunch of the other g-girls so I t-thought that I s-s-should leave you alone…"

Smiling, Naruto replied, "Good, now that we have that out of the way, I want you to eat lunch with me every day from now on, no matter who else is with me. If you get nervous I will just tell everyone else to beat it, though I doubt they will hang around me very much in a few days…"

"Hai!" Hinata replied blushing heavily, not believing that one of her dreams was coming true.

With that the rest of the day flew by. True to his plan, Naruto made sure that he acted like he knew next to nothing about chakra and jutsu, much to the frustration of Iruka. When it came time for taijutsu practice and kunai throwing, Naruto tripped on his own feet, purposefully fell down, and held kunai the wrong way. Even when it came time to practice hand seals, somehow Naruto figured out a way to tie his fingers in knots, earning a hit outside the head from Iruka and laughs from the rest of the class. Eventually it came time for one on one sparring, and it just so happened that Naruto was paired up with Sasuke.

Naruto couldn't help but give Sasuke a little scare, so when it started Naruto ran at him, causing Saskue to throw a punch to Naruto's face out of reflex. Naruto decided to throw his face into the punch, reinforcing his skin with chakra and taking the impact squarely in the jaw, carefully forcing most of the energy pack into Saskue's hand. After Naruto accomplished this he deftly jumped back as though he had taken a heavy hit, lying in the dirt listening for Saskue to be declared the winner. After hearing the end of the spar Naruto jumped up with a huge smile on his face and looked at Saskue.

"Good punch Saskue! That one really hurt! I'll get you next time though!"

"Heh, yeah right. Keep thinking that dobe. I'll always be the winner whenever we fight."

Naruto turned around and walked away. As he was walking away he looked over his shoulder and saw Saskue clutching his hand, watching wide-eyed as it swell up. Naruto laughed as he saw the shock spilling over Saskue's face as the pain in his hand began to register.

'Dammit, what the hell was that!? It felt like I punched a brick wall!'

Everyone looked back and forth between the two wondering who had really won, the guy who had taken the hit and was walking off the field with his hands behind his head laughing, or the guy holding his hand that looked like he punched a beehive.

Naruto walked over to Hinata and sat down next to her, neither one saying a word until Hinata broke the ice.

"T-that was a g-great fight N-Naruto-kun!"

"Thanks Hinata, but I lost this one. Don't worry though; I'll get him next time!" He winked at her with a thumbs-up and a bright smile. She quickly turned her face away from him and looked at the ground, trying to avoid his gaze.

Naruto then watched as the shy girl slowly inched her hand closer to his. As soon as their hands made contact she let out a small sigh before promptly fainting. Naruto couldn't help but laugh inwardly as he felt the contact then noticed Hinata falling forward, barely having enough time to catch her before she hit the ground.

'The hell!'

At this point the last spar finished and Iruka shouted across the yard, "That's all for today everyone, see you all tomorrow morning!"

Everyone began to leave, except for Naruto who now held an unconscious Hinata in his arms. Sighing, he put her on his back, piggy-back style. He made his way through the crowd, ignoring the glares of the jealous girls, and looked for Hinata's escort. When he spotted the tall pale-eyed man, he walked over to him. The man only watched as the young blonde approached him with his charge who appeared to be unconscious, carefully handing her to him.

"I take it you are the famous Naruto Uzumaki. My name is Hoheto Hyuuga, and I have been instructed to invite you to the Hyuuga compound tomorrow morning for breakfast and a light spar with Hinata-sama."

"Oh, thank you but-"

"I have been informed to tell you that Hiashi-sama insists."

*Sigh* "Ok then, I accept. What time should I arrive?"

The man smiled before continuing, "Hiashi-sama will be pleased to hear of your acceptance. You may arrive at 7. Sayonara Uzumaki-sama."

Before jumping away to begin his training he looked over his shoulder and gave the man a warm smile, "Just call me Naruto!"

**_One Hour Later, in the Forest_**

'So, Kurama, what is the training regimen for today?'

**'First, make 15 Kage Bunshin, and have 3 practice chakra manipulations for each element. I want you to be adept in each type of manipulation before you are finished with your year at the academy. If you can master each type of elemental manipulation than the jutsus from that particular element will increase several fold in power, while lowering the amount of chakra needed. Also, if you master the chakra manipulation of each element, then you can combine the elements to use new jutsu, so let's say ****_Katon_**** and ****_Doton_**** could be combined to create magma jutsu or ****_Fuuton_**** and ****_Raiton_**** could be combined to create a devastating storm technique.'**

With a grunt Naruto did as he was instructed, quickly creating clones to complete the task at hand. Naruto knew that it would take several years to do as Kurama instructed him to, but he couldn't wait to see the faces on some of the Akatsuki when they were being buried by searing hot magma or trapped in a vortex being electrocuted.

**'Good. Now, I think it's time we began to build your knowledge of Fuinjutsu. Your father was claimed to be a master Fuinjutsu user, but the truth is he was barely proficient in the skill.'**

'I don't get it, I thought that he was taught by my mom, and she was a full-fledged Uzumaki, who were famed for their skills in Fuinjutsu?'

**'True, Minato was taught by Kushina, but she wasn't taught in the art, she grew up in Konoha, so most of the knowledge on Fuinjutsu was lost when the Uzumaki homeland of Whirlpool was destroyed. Fortunately for you my first container was Mito Uzumaki, who was formally trained in Fuinjutsu, and was by far the best practitioner of that time. Naturally much of her knowledge was passed on to me, and I can now teach you.'**

'I don't see the point of learning Fuinjutsu though. What use could it have in battle? Wouldn't it just be better to practice my Ninjutsu and Taijutsu? Or maybe I can start learning Kenjutsu! That would be so badass!'

**'You have obviously never fought a Fuinjutsu master. They were able to turn the landscape around them into one huge trap. Your father's famed technique, ****_Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thundergod Technique) _****was said to have been his own technique. The legend was that it was a modified version of the ****_Shunshin_**** created by the Second Hokage, then adopted by Minato, but it were the Uzumaki who truly invented it. They were able to spread seals throughout the battlefield and move to each one with little effort. Most shinobi who fought the Uzumaki Fuinjutsu masters were killed before they even knew there was an enemy. They were also able to take control of a person's movements through seals that they placed on their enemies bodies during battle, sowing chaos throughout the enemy formation by having allies turn on one another. Fuinjutsu is only limited by the uses imagination with how to use it and as such it is by far the most dangerous of all battle techniques to use, not to mention the hardest to learn.'**

'Kurama, I'm sorry for ever doubting you. Let's get this show on the road!'

**'Hmph, fine. We will start by you learning the correct way to write the seals. Now you will get to incorporate all that Kanji you said was a waste of time.'**

**_The Next Morning at the Hyuuga Compound_**

Naruto walked through the compound after breakfast with Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi; not to mention some other members. Naruto made sure to wear his best clothes for the occasion, and even put his hair back with string so as to try and control it from going over his shoulders. The conversation was slightly bland for Naruto's taste, with most of the talking occurring between Hiashi and himself, while the elders seemed to glare at the child. Hiniata chirped in every once in a while, but most of the time she simply alternated between staring at Naruto and looking at the ground in a blush. Hanabi was content to simply ignore Naruto and eat her meal in peace, which didn't bother Naruto very much as he never had much interaction with the girl, even in his own time.

From what Naruto could tell, he seemed to impress everyone at the table with his manners, shattering the misconception that he was an uncivil orphan who should be thrown out of Konoha. Unfortunately for Naruto, the elders were set in their ways and as such wouldn't stop being prejudiced towards the boy for simply acting civil during a meal.

After the meal was concluded the group entered the sparring area. The elders took their positions around the room with Hiashi at the head and explained the rules for a regulated spar. Points would be counted in accordance with body blows, knock downs were counted as double a body blow, and a knock out was an instant win. Soon Naruto and Hinata were in their fighting stances, waiting for the referee to begin. When the white-eyed Hyuuga initiated the match, they both stared at each other, Naruto waiting for Hinata to charge him and Hinata trying to steady her visibly shaking legs.

Naruto looked around the room as several of the elders closed their eyes and began to shake their heads at the "weakness" that Hinata was showing. He knew that Hinata was nervous beyond a doubt but he had an idea as how to make Hinata stand out to her family, so he initiated the assault, dodging around her initial palm strike to his shoulder, spinning on his toes so that he passed by Hinata's left side. As he slid past her he whispered very gently into her ear so no one else but her could hear him.

"Don't be afraid Hinata-chan, this is only a spar. If you hit me don't worry, you won't hurt me and I won't be mad at you either. I know how strong you are, you are just too kind to go all out. Just put your heart in it, and if you are able to land a solid hit on me, I will go out with you for a date on an evening of your choice. If you can hit me that is."

Naruto passed by her and turned around quickly, watching as his words began to sink in and was registered with the young girl. A furious blush spread across her face as she began to ponder the possibilities of his deal. After a few moments, however, the blush went away and Naruto saw a spark ignite in Hinata's eyes that almost scared him. He was satisfied that now she would fight with everything she had, possibly even more so than during the Chunnin exams against Neji. Now she was fighting for what she thought were Naruto's affections, and there was no force on earth that could stop her now.

With a yell she charged the young man, furiously throwing strike after strike at Naruto. None of the strikes had any Juken chakra in them, as per the rules of the spar, but they would still cause a fair amount of pain if they hit. The spar raged on for minutes with Hinata not being able to land a single strike, no matter how fast she was. Naruto was just dodging all her hits with grace, seemingly dancing around her. She was throwing strikes so fast that her arms began to blur together to her eyes. \

'Why can't I hit him!? He's just too fast! I can't do this… I'm a failure… I won't ever be strong enough to stay with Naruto-kun… I… I… I just want to be with him… This is so frustrating…'

Tears began to form in her eyes as she continued to miss Naruto, who still had yet to even so much as block on of her strikes. Just when she was about to give up a strange sensation began to develop in her eyes. She ignored it and continued her assault in vain. To the observers it seemed like the two children were locked in an elaborate dance, moving way too quick for their age.

Hinata jumped back when her eyes began to tingle more, the kind of sensation of when someone lays on their leg for a while and it falls asleep. She closed her eyes for a split second, and when she opened them she gasped.

She was able to see all of Naruto's Tenketsu points, along with his chakra coils. What she saw caused her to pause for a few moments in shock.

'This must be Byakugan! I can see everyone's chakra now! This is great, thank you so much Naruto-kun… thank you…'

She began to look around the room at the elders and finally her father, who had a very large grin on his face. Finally she looked back at Naruto and gasped. From comparing Naruto's chakra coils to that of her fathers, she could only guess that Naruto's coils were somewhere on the magnitude of 90 to 100 times larger.

'How is this possible? It must be my eyes, yes, that has to be it. It must be that I just activated them, so there are still flukes. It doesn't matter, I have to hit him! I can't let this opportunity pass me by!'

She again charged Naruto, but this time he seemed slower. She got closer and closer to hitting him as the spar went on for the next few minutes. She threw one last strike at Naruto's stomach, trying to end the spar and earn the promised reward.

**'Naruto, you better start using some chakra to dodge her attacks, this one is gonna knock you on your ass if it hits.'**

'We've been over this Kurama, I was only going to dodge using the wind chakra that I have surrounding me, and I would only dodge her attacks as long as I could sense them with the chakra surrounding my body. If I used anything else everyone here would be able to pick up on it, but this method uses little enough chakra so that they won't be able to sense it.'

**'Hnnn'**

Just as the small mental argument ended Hinata landed the hit and sent Naruto sliding across the floor. Everyone was in a daze, not able to believe that the shy little girl had just sparred someone with that much ferocity. Immediately everyone began to clap loudly as the referee declared Hinata the winner of the duel. Hiashi gave Naruto a quite nod, thankful that the young boy had not only brought out Hinata's skills for all the elders to see, but had also helped her in unlocking the Byakugan at such a young age.

Naruto got to his feet and walked over to Hinata, intent on congratulating her on her hard won date.

"That was truly amazing Hinata-chan. I barely had the chance to throw in a few strikes of my own in that spar, you had me on the defensive the entire time. As to my promise, I will let you decide when and where, just let me know in class."

"A-Arigato Naruto-kun! Y-you were g-great too. I'm glad we could spar together."

'Wait, did she just say a complete sentence without stuttering?'

**'Progress Naruto, it's called progress'**

'Ha, guess so.' "Thanks Hinata-chan I can't wait to see what you plan for the date." Naruto got a little wide-eyed as a very devious smile spread across Hinata's face, but he was soon pushed out of the way as several of the elders surrounded Hinata intent on congratulating her.

Naruto walked over to Hiashi and bowed deeply, "Hiashi-sama thank you for the great breakfast and the chance to spar your daughter. Unfortunately I have to go get ready for class and it looks like there are a few of the Hyuuga elders who want me to leave."

"Of course Naruto. Don't worry about those old wrinkly bags, I will take care of them soon. I already told you, I am in your debt for saving my daughter, even more so now for bringing out her true skills in front of the very men who were only yesterday talking about making her younger sister the clad head."

"It was my pleasure Hiashi-sama."

With that Naruto stood back up and made his way out of the Hyuuga compound, ignoring more angry glares from some of the guards throughout the house. Naruto went back to his apartment and collapsed on his bed, still tired from last night's training.

**_10 Months later_**

Naruto once again walked into the academy and made his way to his seat in the back next to Hinata, sad that this was the last day he would have to simply enjoy being with everyone, especially Hinata. Over the course of the last year, the two grew extremely close, and much to Naruto's surprise, she was definitely the one in control of their relationship.

_Flashback_

_After his promised first date, she forced him to agree to another, not that she had to push him too much. After about a week or two of being together and about five separate dates, all of which were of Hinata's choosing, she became increasingly outgoing._

_Naruto walked her back to the Hyuuga compound after spending the evening together. Before leaving Naruto decided to give her a light kiss on the cheek, but Hinata, was able to see what he was going to do, and turned her head to change the destination of the kiss. Naruto stared with a blank expression on his face as he was kissing Hinata on the lips, something he had no intention of doing, for a while at lease. What confused him most was that Hinata, the shyest girl he had ever met took the lead with It and wrapped her arms around his neck, not letting him back away. Naruto's mind went blank. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do since this was his first time in a situation like this._

**_'Holy crap… this is hot…'_**

_'PERVERT FOX! GET OUT OF HERE!'_

**_'You're no fun…'_**

_After a few minutes, Hinata broke the contact and thanked Naruto for the evening. She giggled before walking away, watching as a blush began to break out over the blonde's face. It wasn't long after that incident did Naruto start to feel happy and light-headed whenever she was around, not realizing that he was starting to develop feelings of love for Hinata._

_End Flashback_

Naruto laughed silently as he realized just how different the timeline of this time period was compared to his own. The one thing he was sure of was that he had to be on team 7 again. Naruto was determined to rid Saskue of his hatred, and he wouldn't let that Sannin bastard corrupt him any further. Konoha couldn't lose a ninja with Saskue's skill; they would need it in the near future.

Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts by Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, Iruka is starting to call people up to the front for the Bunshin part of the test. You did practice, didn't you?"

Naruto knew that he couldn't pass up the opportunity to look at the forbidden scroll once again, he wanted to learn another S-class jutsu, but he couldn't let Hinata know.

"Of course I did Hinata-hime, it's just that, well… quite frankly I suck at Bunshin!"

"How you can say that with a smile on your face is a mystery to me. Shoot! It's my turn now; wish me luck Naruto-kun!"

"Don't worry, you don't need it."

Naruto watched as each of his classmates in succession successfully performed the Bunshin, and soon enough it was his turn to be called down to the front of the class.

"Ok Naruto, now all you have to do is perform a Bunshin of me and you will be able to graduate this year."

Naruto had thought long and hard about how he would fail his test, and he was happy with the conclusion he arrived at after many nights of talking it over with Kurama.

"Sure thing Iruka-sensei! Prepare to see the best Bunshin of your life!"

Naruto threw his hands together and the room was filled with smoke, and when the smoke finally subsided all the girls in the class, save Hinata, fainted and collapsed onto their desks with blood streaming down their nose.

Standing at the front of the room was a shirtless 17 year old Sasuke laying on Iruka's desk with his pants almost falling down in a very suggestive manner. Needless to say, all the males in the class began violently vomiting, and Iruka hit Naruto over the head as hard as he could to knock him out of his Henge.

"NARUTO! YOU FAIL!"

After he was knocked out of his Henge Naruto did his best to look upset, but he couldn't help but giggle at the mess he had caused. He slowly made his way to the back of the room, doing his best to step over the regurgitated lunches of his classmates, to a worried-looking Hinata.

In his failure Hinata tried to console him, saying there was always next year, but to her surprise Naruto showed no frustration at all, in fact he almost seemed excited. She couldn't stay long because her father had planned a graduation party for the now fully recognized heiress of the Hyuuga clan.

As soon as she left, Naruto moved to walk out of the classroom and almost as if on cue, Mizuki approached Naruto.

"You know Naruto, I think I might know of a way that you can still graduate from the academy without doing the Bunshin."

Naruto looked up at Mizuki with fake teary eyes, "REALLY! How!?"

"Well you see, there is this scroll in the Hokage's office. It's a commonly known fact that only true shinobi are able to get into his office undetected, so if you can sneak in there and get the scroll, then he won't have a choice but recognize you as a full-fledged shinobi! Of course, you have to bring the scroll to me so that he will have proof that you got the scroll."

Mizuki began laughing to himself as he watched the boy jumped from rooftop to rooftop on his mission, thinking of how perfect his plan was. 'Stupid brat! Now I will be able to get my hands on the scroll AND kill the fox demon! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'

It wasn't long before Naruto had the scroll and was in the forest looking it over, skipping Kage Bunshin and looking for any jutsu that caught his fancy. Naruto's eyes fell on the _Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thundergod Technique) _but he was stopped by Kurama.

**'You will be able to figure that one out later as you learn more of Fuinjutsu, don't waste this opportunity on that particular one. Find a different jutsu.'**

Naruto grumbled a bit at passing up the opportunity to get a head start on his father's techniques, but he decided that Kurama did have a point.

'Fine'

Naruto continued reading, finding most of the information to be on certain Kekkei Genkais. He was about to give up until he reached the very bottom of the scroll, and saw a strange looking jutsu.

'Kurama what about this one?'

**'Hmmm, the ****_Dohatsuten no Jutsu (Fury Technique)_****. Strange, I don't remember ever hearing about that one, it must have been created recently. Read it.'**

'According to this it begins when a massive amount of chakra is gathered into a container. The gathered chakra is then released all at once, acting as a massive explosion.'

**'That one won't help you at all then. I don't think either of us planning on blowing ourselves up like that idiot Akatsuki member with the long blonde ponytail.'**

*Somewhere in Iwagakure, Deidara sneezed*

**'Choose a different one.'**

'Wait I have an idea. Here it says that the energy gathered comes from the earth and the atmosphere, just like Senjutsu Chakra! If I could modify this technique to that I could contain it in let's say, my hand or my foot, then I would be able to deliver a punch with as much explosive force as one of Deidara's C3 bombs! That would be enough force to make Tsunade-baachan's punches feel like a light tap.'

**'I'll give it to you kit, you certainly have become more creative from your past life. I'm glad that all the time we spent studying wasn't in vain. Well you had better get started then!'**

**_Several Hours Later_**

Naruto watched as Mizuki, disguised as Iruka was chasing Iruka, disguised as Naruto. Mizuki desperately wanted the scroll to gain great strength, but little did he know that he didn't have the chakra or affinity to learn anything on the scroll. Naruto continued to observe as Mizuki was kicked by Iruka, and they both crashed to the ground. Just as Mizuki pulled out a shuriken and threw it at Iruka, Naruto made his move.

He dashed out of his hiding place and caught the shuriken in midair. He threw the shuriken back at Mizuki who jumped out of the way quickly.

"HAHAHAHA! Stupid brat! You should have just left when that idiot over there got me distracted with that Henge. Now I get to kill both of you!"

Iruka tried standing up but fell back down, clutching the wound on his side.

"Naruto! Get out of here! I'll hold him off long enough for you to get away safely!"

"Sorry Iruka-sensei, no can do. You see, this guy betrayed the village and the trust of one of his students. People who betray their village are trash, but those who betray their comrades are worse than trash, so just sit there and relax while I take out the trash."

Mizuki started laughing hysterically at Naruto's bold statement.

"You think you can beat me _demon?_ Do you even know what you are?"

"MIZUKI! STOP!" Iruka tried in vain to silence Mizuki.

"Do you know why everyone hates you so much? No one is supposed to tell you but when the Kyuubi attacked, the Yondaime Hokage failed to kill it, and had to seal it inside a newborn baby. The only baby available was you! You are the Kyuubi! You are responsible for all those deaths! HAHAHAHAHA-"

Mizuki stopped laughing when Naruto grinned and brought up his fingers to form a seal.

"Sorry Mizuki, but since you just disclosed a village secret, you are going to have to be punished."

Mizuki listened in horror to the next words that left Naruto's mouth.

_"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

Naruto then pummeled Mizuki to within an inch of his life, being very careful to hold back his strength.

When Mizuki was taken care of, Naruto was given Iruka's headband, as a sign that he had passed. Naruto was beyond happy to once again form the bond that he made with Iruka, and a little stop by Naruto's favorite Ramen stand didn't hurt either.

**_Next Day at the Academy_**

Hinata gasped when she saw Naruto walk into the room in his usual attire, but there one item on his forehead that wasn't there earlier. He had a black long-sleeved shirt with orange flames and the red Uzumaki crest on his back, black pants, and his normal, though dreamy, long sun-kissed spiky blonde hair that ran down his back. There was something different though, on his forehead rested a Konoha Hitai-ate. As Naruto walked back towards his seat Hinata couldn't help back ask the obvious question.

"Naruto-kun, where did you get that? I thought you failed the test yesterday?"

Naruto chuckled to himself before answering, "Don't worry Hinata-hime, I talked to Iruka-sensei after class, and after a little demonstration he decided that I was indeed worthy of being a Konoha nin."

Hinata hugged him tightly when she heard the news. "That's great news Naruto-kun! Oh I hope we get to be on the same team then! That would be a dream come true!"

Naruto looked down at the desk with a frown since he knew that wouldn't happen. He had to make sure to at least keep the team arrangements the same, even if everything else was already different.

"Yeah Hinata-hime, that would be great."

Hinata gave him a confused look and was about to ask him about his sudden gloomy expression but was cut off when Iruka began naming the teams. Hinata's heart sank when he got to team 7.

"Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Saskue. Your Jounin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."

After the grumbles from the Saskue fangirls died down and a certain pink-haired girl stopped celebrating, Iruka continued reading names.

Hinata now remembered how they paired the class, and knew that Naruto would have never been on her team. Just as she was about to begin a cry she felt a pair of hands pull her into a warm hug, and looked up at Naruto who smiled warmly at her.

"Don't worry Hinata-hime. We will still be able to spend time together, just not as much. Whenever I am on a mission you had better believe that I will be visiting with you. I would miss you too much if I didn't."

Hinata looked up into his eyes. "Promise?"

"You know that my nindo is to never tell a lie, and to always protect my friends no matter what."

She closed her eyes and snuggled into his chest even harder. "I know, I just needed to hear you say it."

After a few minutes Naruto reluctantly let her go as people began to leave the classroom to meet with their teams. Team seven was instructed by Iruka for his team to wait in the classroom to meet with their Sensei.

As Naruto watched Hinata leave, he noticed Kiba eyed her up, watching her every move like a predator watches his prey. Anger began to well up within Naruto as he watched the boy lick his lips before following Hinata and Shino to meet with their jounin sensei.

"I swear… if he touches her I will break his fingers off and feed them to his damn dog…"

**'That was awfully dark for you Naruto'**

'I can't help it…I don't know why, but whenever another guy eyes Hinata up I just wanna punch them!'

Kurama chuckled. **'That's called jealousy! Just trust her, she was the one hopelessly in love with you last time remember?'**

'Yeah Yeah… I'll still hurt Kiba if he touches her…'

His thoughts were interrupted when Sasuke and Sakura came closer to Naruto and sat down in anticipation of meeting their sensei. Naruto sighed and let go all of his angry thoughts towards Kiba for the time being.

'Well Kurama, I guess this is where things get interesting!'

**END**

**AN: Once again, please review and tell me what you think. All criticism is taken well, as I am striving to make this story the best it can be, and I know i cant do this alone.**

**A special thank you to the following people for giving helpful criticism**

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**The Unknown Spirit**

**Traptwolf94**

**Thank You all!**


	4. Becoming Genin

**AN: Hello again everyone. Here is the newest chapter from yours truly! I hope it lives up to everyones standards! Enjoy**

**Another chapter that has been revised. I assure everyone that when I am finished with this I will continue with new chapters...**

**I dont own, and never will own, Naruto or anything ever mentioned in this fanfic. period.**

**_Chapter 4_**

Naruto and his team were waiting in the classroom for Kakashi, and Naruto decided to take this opportunity to show that he hadn't just improved his Taijutsu and Ninjutsu over the past year, he had learned a fair amount of Fuinjutsu. Instead of a chalk eraser wedged in the door a bucket of glue now sat above held in place by a seal with another seal placed on top of it to destroy both seals as soon as the trigger seal was activated, with said trigger seal being placed on the door. Naruto also placed seals so that when someone stepped on the floor just inside the door, feathers would shoot up from underneath. Naruto decided a long time ago that he would do what he had to do to rid Kakashi of his bad habits now, rather than later. Pleased with his intense Fuinjutsu trap, Naruto took a step back as he remembered his previous talk with Kurama.

_Flashback_

_Naruto was in his usual training spot, well one of his training spots since he had a habit of quickly destroying the landscape. His chakra manipulations were coming along about as well as they could. He was just getting over the first stage of Fuinjutsu, and was beginning to learn just how dangerous seals could be; he could store literally anything he wanted and release it as a weapon later. He also learned that if he made one wrong stroke while drawing the seal the whole thing would later explode. His first experience of a seal malfunction was when he tried to store a box of Kunai. Needless to say Naruto made double sure he drew the seal right after that._

**_'Naruto, I think we should take a break and talk about your future with team 7.'_**

_'What about it? I thought we already established that I would be on my original team so that I can save Sasuke?'_

**_'It isn't about that. I want to know what you will do when you meet your first enemy. You can't just use your usual strength or it would be painfully obvious something is wrong, and we both know you suck at trying to hold back.'_**

_Naruto chuckled at the truth of Kurama's words._

_'Ok, so what do you propose I do then?'_

**_'Well, I think it should be fine to use your Kage Bunshins still since they divide your power, but instead of fighting with heavy Ninjutsu or advance Taijutsu, I want you to use just simple Taijutsu and as much Fuinjutsu you can use.'_**

_Naruto's palm hit his forehead. 'Are you insane?! I'll be dead before I get to the Chunnin exams! Zabuza will tear me a new one, and I wanted to use my new technique against Haku's mirrors…'_

**_'Then how about a deal? If you hold back on any of the Ninjutsu you have been practicing with until you get to the Chunnin exams, I will teach you Minato's technique, the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thundergod Technique). By that point in time I think you will be far enough along with Fuinjutsu training anyway. In reference to Zabuza "tearing you a new one" you are allowed to use your advanced Taijutsu, though, only in extreme circumstances.'_**

_'Hmmmm… I guess that wouldn't be too much of a problem. Hell that technique might actually be fun to use against Neji in the exams… assuming that the match-ups stay the same at least…'_

_End flashback_

Sakura and Saskue watched him in silence, they were just as aggravated as Naruto was and hoped that his trap would work despite the fact that Kakashi was a famed Jounin. Much to their delight, as soon as the one-eyed man walked through the door, it all went off in perfect sequence. All three of the new Genin laughed hysterically, well, Sasuke just laughed quietly. They kept on laughing in amusement as their new Jounin sensei looked like a chicken without the beak. Kakashi was less than happy to be the object of their humor, but seeing as how this was their first interaction and the fact that he was much older than them, decided to be the bigger person and let it go. When he stepped in the room he looked down and was very surprised to see an advance seal on the ground, one that Naruto had forgotten to put a destruction seal on. He looked at his new Genin team trying to determine which one was an accomplished Fuinjutsu user. His eye soon fell on Naruto who was still holding his stomach in laughter.

"Well, I guess I deserved that. Anyway, meet me on the roof in 10 minutes so we can discuss your futures as shinobi."

With that said Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the three to go clean himself up. After a few more minutes of laughter, Naruto wiped the tears off his eyes and decided that they should do as instructed.

"Come on guys, I guess we should go meet our new 'Sensei' before he gets there before us."

Saskue simply got up and gave a small "Hn" with Sakura in tow like a lost puppy, following his every move. She shoved Naruto out of the way as she tried to keep up with Saskue.

'I have REALLY got to talk to her about that. I might just vomit if I have to watch this all play out again…'

Naruto slowly got back up and followed his team, arriving to a sour looking Kakashi. At the sight of his last member Naruto, he decided to begin introductions.

"Good, now that everyone is here we can begin. How about we all introduce ourselves? So let's all give our name, hobbies, interests, and future dreams."

After a while of no one speaking, Naruto decided to talk.

"I think it's only proper manners for the one who began conversation to begin introductions; wouldn't you agree Sensei?"

*sigh* "Ok then, my name is Hatake Kakashi. My hobbies, well I don't feel like telling you all. I have many interests. My future dreams? I also don't feel like telling you all. Now how about loudmouth goes next?"

"Nah, ide rather go last. Saskue or Sakura can go next."

Sakura saw this chance to impress Saskue with her future goals, so she jumped up.

"My name is Haruno Sakura! My hobbies are learning and talking to Saskue-kun. My interest is talking to Saskue-kun. My future dream is to become the best Kunoichi Konoha has ever known, and also be with Saskue-kun."

"Thank you Sakura for your… extensive introduction. Saskue you are up next." Kakashi spoke after the pink-haired girl was finished.

"My name is Saskue Uchiha. I have no interests or hobbies. I only have two future goals, the first being the revival of my clan and the second being the death of a _certain_ man."

The air seemed to drop ten degrees as he spoke, but this was lost on Naruto as he recollected everything he knew about Itachi. Kakashi looked at Naruto and saw him look down at the ground, visibly sad at Sasuke's declaration.

'Sasuke, if you only knew the truth. Your suffering is laughable compared to the hardships that Itachi had to deal with. I WILL find a way to turn you from this path of darkness.'

Naruto decided to wait a few moments to let Sasuke's words sink in before speaking.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My hobbies are training and having fun with my few friends. My interests include spending time with Hyuuga Hinata and eating ramen." Naruto watched as everyone began rolling their eyes at his words. "My future dream is to become the Hokage and protect those people close to me, but more than that, I want to have the strength necessary to find peace in this ninja system. I want to see the day when we can all live without fear, free from the cycle of hatred that plagues the Shinobi world."

Everyone's jaw was on the ground, and if Kakashi wasn't wearing a facemask his would have been too. He looked at the kid standing in front of him, with absolutely no hesitation in his eyes, just pure determination.

'Those weren't the words of a Genin. Those words came from someone who has seen death and hatred on a grand scale. Minato, you would be proud of the man your son has become.'

"Thank you Naruto, that was most inspiring. Moving on, tomorrow morning we will meet here then go to training ground 21 where I will administer your Genin test."

Sakura piped in, "I thought we already passed the Genin test?" while showcasing her Hitai-ate.

"That was the test to see if you were ready to leave the academy. My test will determine if you have what it takes to perform your duties as a team. Each test is given by the Sensei of each team individually, and they have the right to deny their team the right to become Genin if they think they aren't ready. I also don't want anyone here to eat breakfast tomorrow. If you do, I assure you that you will be seeing it again before the end of the test."

Dismissing a few more short complaints from Sakura, Kakashi left and let the three reflect on his words. After Kakashi left, Naruto thought about telling his teammates that they should in fact eat breakfast, but a better idea popped into his head.

"Hey guys, so I asked around about Hatake Kakashi after I heard he was going to be our sensei, and so far I've heard some pretty good things… well except about that…"

Looking around he knew that he had their attention now, so he decided to lay it on thick.

"Everyone I talked to turned pale when we started talking about his Genin test, and some even went to the nearest trash bin to hurl. I really don't think we should ignore his warning about breakfast."

Naruto was laughing hysterically, in his mind of course, at how pale and serious Sasuke and Sakura got. Deciding that his damage was done, Naruto decided to leave.

"Well, I better prepare for tomorrow, see you guys!"

As he was about to leave he remembered his slight mental note about Sakura. He decided that now was as good a time as ever to have her stop chasing Sasuke.

"Before I leave, Sakura, I need to talk to you. It is a very urgent matter about our team."

Sakura looked puzzled, and slightly annoyed that she would have to give up her chance to be with Sasuke-kun as he walked home today. Against her better judgment she decided to hear him out, only because he seemed so serious. Naruto waited until Sasuke was well out of earshot before beginning.

"Sakura, I feel that I have to talk to you about Sasuke."

**'Tread carefully, we both know what happens when she gets angry.'**

'Angry or not, she has to hear this if she has any chance with him.'

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Well, what do you want to tell me about Sasuke-kun?"

"I think you should stop following him around like some rabid fangirl."

This was the wrong thing to say to her at the moment, and she quickly went to punch him in the head. He bent low and swiftly dodged it as though he knew exactly where she would hit. As her arm passed over his head he bent back up and caught her arm.

"Hear me out! I have a reason for saying this, it is the only way if you want to have a legitimate shot with him."

This quickly stopped her from trying to injure him, though temporary. She was curious as to what he would say to back his claim up, so she decided to give him one last chance before she put him in a mini coma.

"Go on."

Naruto let go of her arm and took a step back. "Well, as you can see, Sasuke isn't exactly the friendliest person. You and I both heard that he only plans to restore his clan, well that and kill someone… Anyway, who do you think he would want to revive his clan with, the Uchiha clan, one of the most powerful clan in History? Would he want some crazy fangirl or some powerful Kunoichi?"

The realization hit Sakura hard. She couldn't help but think back to how cold Sasuke had always been. He had always looked at other girls strangely, like he wasn't seeing them for who they were, but for what traits they possessed, like their skills and strengths. Then what did that mean for her?

"But then that would mean that I would never-"

"That doesn't mean that you can't be with him."

Hearing this Sakura quickly looked up at the boy with a questioning stare. She found a life raft in the middle of the ocean, and she wasn't about to let it float on by.

"How?"

"Well it's no secret that you were the smartest of our class, hence our current team. So you are already set on intelligence, so long as you don't suddenly decide to act like an idiot for no reason. I also heard that you had one of the best chakra controls of everyone in the class, and I may have been mistaken but I could have sworn I heard some of the instructors saying that you showed as much promise as Tsunade of the Sannin in your potential as a medic-nin with that kind of control. So you can be both a strong Kunoichi, and still have a crush on Sasuke, but you have to let him come to you. I will talk to him and tell him what I just told you, and I have no doubt that he will see like I do. He might be cold but he isn't stupid. He'll come around, eventually. All you have to do is train, hard, and make him recognize you. If you want I could teach you a little of what I know, seeing as were will be on the same team and all."

Sakura had been listening intently the whole time, hardly believing that this guy was actually going to go out of his way to help her get Sasuke, not that she minded much. She was fine with his advice until she heard the teaching part, and she just had to say something about that.

Sakura chuckled at Naruto's statement. "What could you possibly teach me? You were the dead-last of our class, and you said it yourself, I am the smartest, so what could you teach me that Kakashi couldn't?"

Naruto gave a very warm smile. "Well that would be up to you to decide, but I have a feeling your view of me will change tomorrow after the test. Don't forget my little warning about not eating either!"

Shooting one last smile towards Sakura he jumped away, intent on finding Hinata before she headed back home. It didn't take long to find her, as he was getting pretty good on picking up peoples chakra signatures, something he had been practicing with outside of Kyuubi mode. He noticed another chakra signature and started to get angry, since he knew the other person was up to no good. As he got closer he picked up the conversation between Hinata and Kiba, and what he heard pissed him off.

Kiba looked like he had Hinata backed against a tree, trying to block her from leaving. "Come on Hinata! Just one! Just go out with me once, and if you don't like it, then you never have to do it again."

"I'm sorry Kiba-kun but it has to be a no. I am already in a relationship with Naruto-kun. I'm sorry but you have to excuse me, I have to go. Naruto-kun is probably looking for me right now."

Kiba hit his hand on the tree near Hinata's head. "What!? Why would you go out with that dead-last loser? He couldn't even perform a proper Bunshin for the test! He has absolutely no talent at all! Plus the things I hear about him from my mother would make even your skin crawl!"

Hinata turned her head up to face Kiba. "And what does your mother have to say about my Naruto-kun?"

A malicious smirk made its way onto his face. "Well for one she always calls him a dem-"

With that Naruto appeared in the clearing behind Kiba and placed his palm over his mouth, determined to stop Kiba before he could further drag his name through the mud. Naruto then spoke quietly to Kiba so Hinata couldn't hear.

"Now Kiba, we both know that what you are about to say should be left unsaid, especially if you don't have the full story. If you insist on patronizing me, I would prefer it if you face me as a man, and not go talking behind my back. On that note, I would also like to say that I don't really like the way you talk to my Hinata-hime."

Kiba was a little pissed that Naruto was able to get behind him, but found this all too amusing. He reached up and pulled Naruto's hand off his mouth and so decided to raise his voice so Hinata could hear as well, "What are you afraid of Naruto-_kun_? If you want to fight that badly I would be glad to take you on any time!"

"I won't shame myself by acting childish in front of Hinata-hime; that is just tasteless. Not to mention I don't think Hinata-chan would like it if I beat up one of her team mates."

Kiba turned around and pushed Naruto away from him. "Hahaha! I knew it; you are a coward and a liar! On top of that you think you have the balls to tell me to 'stay away from your girl'?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Of course not. Hinata-hime is able to decide for herself who to talk to, and if you are insinuating that I don't trust her you are mistaken. I trust her completely, just as I know she trusts me. On that note, it doesn't mean that I would hesitate to beat the crap out of someone who is annoying her, be it a team mate or not."

Hinata could see that Naruto was getting serious so she decided to play the part of the innocent girl before her brand new team mate got his ass handed to him.

"Naruto-kun wait! You can't fight him, you might get hurt! Let's just leave him alone. Please! I don't want anyone to get hurt!"

Both men looked at Hinata, but Naruto heard her message loud and clear.

*Sigh* "I guess you're right Hinata-hime." There was no way Naruto could miss this change in attitude, so he also decided to played along with it. "I guess this is goodbye, Kiba-_kun_."

The two left a very stunned Kiba alone in a training ground, cursing under his breath as he felt like he was left out of some sort of inside joke.

Naruto laughed as they jumped away, proud of Hinata for being so clever.

"You know, I could just beat him up and be done with it?"

Hinata giggled. "That would make for some awkward team meetings though. I just need to say no enough times for him to finally get it. I just hope he doesn't do something stupid, like try to touch me."

"If he does that, than forget beating him up, I'll kill him!"

Hinata stared at Naruto for a few moments, almost concerned.

*Sigh* "I'm just joking Hinata-hime, you know I would never hurt someone like that unless I absolutely had to."

"I know, I just want you to know that you won't ever have to. But let's change subjects, what did you have in mind for a date tonight?"

Naruto smiled. "Dunno, Kakashi tried some scare tactic about us not eating, so let's go somewhere with tons of food!"

Hinata giggled as she thought about how old and grown up Naruto seemed one minute, only to turn back into a kid the next. It was that part of him that kept her guessing that she really liked, but above all else she liked how much he cared about those close to him, and how she always felt safe around him.

**_Next Morning_**

Just as Kakashi had instructed them to, team 7 all met up early in the morning and headed over to the training grounds. It was about a 30 minute run across Konoha to training ground 21. This was meant to gauge the Genin's stamina, as they were forced to go at an almost sprint paced. From what Kakashi could tell, Sasuke and Sakura were putting a fair amount of effort into the run, while Naruto seemed like he was trying to act tired for appearances, but there was no visible sweat at all on the boy. Kakashi made a mental note to watch the boy further, to see if he seemed at all odd, despite the fact that the boy held the Kyuubi inside of course.

When they arrived Kakashi gave them a few moments to catch their breath before he began to explain the exercise they would perform.

"Now that we're here, I guess I should explain the purpose of this test. There are two bells attached to my hip, and your objective is to take them from me, in any way you guys seem fit to. Now, whomever does not get a bell will be sent back to the academy, doomed to never become a full-fledged Genin!"

Kakashi just enjoyed the faces of his new team, except for that Naruto, he seemed as calm as ever. This boy's will astounded the cycloptic Jounin. He would just have to put the boy's confidence to the test.

"Now, any questions? No? Well then… GO!..." Kakashi closed his eyes for a few moments to allow his team to get the element of surprise on his side. When he opened them he saw a blonde-haired kid staring at him. "Uhhhhh, Naruto? The point of the start is to go hide while you strategize with your team…"

"I just wanted to try a little something. Oh, and Kakashi, you've been tagged."

Kakashi looked down to see two Bunshins burst forth from the ground, grabbing Kakashi's legs while a special sort of seal spread across his legs. Each clone yelled _Fuinjutsu: Ashi Baindingu (Sealing Technique: Leg Binding)_, cementing the one-eyed Jounin to the ground.

'What the… Where on earth did this boy learn this kind of Fuinjutsu!? This is impossible! There aren't even any Fuinjutsu practitioners around here to teach him! And Kage Bunshins? He should be on the ground panting from chakra exhaustion right now! This kid just gets more and more interesting… Wait, where did he go now!'

Kakashi heard something that caused him to begin a string of verbal curses, wishing that for once his good hearing had deceived him. Unfortunately they did not, and Kakashi had no time to do any more than pump chakra into his bottom to soften what he knew was coming.

_Ninjutsu: Sennen Goroshi (A Thousand Years of Death)!_

The technique Naruto used blasted into a log of wood, one that Kakashi had just managed to switch with. Kakashi jumped down and delivered a swift kick to Naruto's chest, but as soon as his foot made contact Naruto exploded into a puff of smoke.

'Hmmmm. This kid is good, Where on earth did he learn that technique though?'

As the clone's memories flooded Naruto, he let out a small curse that he wasn't able to pay the Jounin back for the previous Genin test. Naruto dismissed it quickly and turned to Saskue and Sakura.

"Guys, I don't think we can do this alone, even if we only get one bell, it's better than none. I will be able to pin him down for a few seconds, since he will have already figured out how to break my Fuinjutsu bindings."

Sasuke looked at Naruto with a calculating stare. "Where on earth did you learn Fuinjutsu, dobe?"

"Hahahahahahaha! Sasuke, you should get out more! The Konoha library is a great place to sit down and study!" Naruto shuddered at how many times he and a hundred of his shadow clones sat down and memorized every single bit of knowledge available to him, as part of Kurama's 'mental training.'

Sakura surprised both of them with her next words. "Sasuke, I think we should listen to Naruto on this one, teamwork is our only option here."

"Hn." 'I wonder why she didn't end my name in –kun. I guess she must be really serious here. Not that I care.'

"Thanks Sakura, now here is what we are gonna do."

**_Several Minutes Later_**

Kakashi walked through the forest reading his favorite orange book, clearly underestimating the trap he was clumsily walking into. Just has he stepped over an overgrown root, two Naruto clones once again popped up from the grounds, placing seals on Kakashi's legs, temporarily immobilizing the Jounin.

Kakshi put his book away turning to Naruto before saying, "Naruto, I think it's only fair to tell you that I've figured out how to dispel your sealing techniques. All I have to do is pump enough chakra into my legs to break them, and by the looks of it I will only be stuck here for around 2 more seconds, and I can easily defend myself for that amount of time."

Naruto refrained from telling him that those seals were only on a scale of about one tenth of what Naruto's seals could actually do. Even though Naruto was far from being considered a Fuinjutsu master, he was still the best in Konoha by far.

"Heh, holding you down was never my goal at all!" Naruto yelled before jumping away as his clone burst into a cloud of smoke, and Sasuke jumped into the clearing shooting several small fireballs yelling, "_Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Art of the Phoenix Flower)"_. Kakashi broke the seals and instinctively jumped into the air to avoid the fireballs, thankful that he was able to break the seals when he did. Just when Kakashi was in mid jump, Kakashi saw Sakura throw two blunted Kunai towards him, and he was able to twist his body to easily dodge them. Just as he thought the attack was finished, the Kunai turned into Naruto clones who threw more kunai at him.

'He was able to turn his Bunshin into Kunai? What a clever combination! It'll take more than that to… What… Why can't I move my arms and legs?' Kakashi looked down and saw the seals re-appear on his legs and creep up his arms. 'He was able to hide those seals inside the first seals on my legs and activate them later? This isn't an ordinary Genin I'm dealing with…'

Kakashi was rendered useless as the kunai turned into more Naruto Bunshins who grabbed the bells and threw them to the real Naruto in a puff of smoke. Kakashi landed shortly after breaking the seals on his arms and legs once again. Kakashi could see the question forming on the faces of his team, so he addressed the young blonde quickly.

"Congratulations Naruto, since you were the one who actually managed to get the bells, you now get to choose one of your teammates to give the other bell to. The one who doesn't get a bell has to go back to the academy after all. Those are the rules."

Kakashi, along with Sakura and Sasuke, was stunned when Naruto sighed and threw both bells to his other teammates before replying.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei, no can do. If I had to betray one of my teammates right here and now then I deserve to go back to the academy. I don't care if I break the rules, sure rules are important and those who break them are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. Also, what kind of Hokage would I be if I chose to help myself before helping my fellow Shinobi?"

Kakashi was at a loss for words, he just couldn't help but see his oldest friend reflected in the pure determination that shown in Naruto's eyes. Sasuke and Sakura were at a loss for words, they couldn't believe that Naruto was so ready to give up on his dream just to allow them to advance their own goals. Fortunately for them, they wouldn't have to split up.

Kakashi smiled at Naruto. "Congratulations, you all pass. This test was about teamwork and how well you all were willing to work together. You all can have the rest of the day off, and tomorrow we will start our first mission as Team 7. Naruto, before you leave I would like to talk to you."

Sasuke and Sakura looked back at Naruto, who simply shrugged and began walking with Kakashi to a more private area. Naruto was pleased to see Sakura bid Saskue farewell before jumping off, hopefully to train. He was glad that she was taking his advice to heart and actually not following Sasuke around.

When the pair got to a secluded spot in the training area Kakashi stopped and turned to Naruto.

"Now Naruto, would you care to tell me how you learned about Fuinjutsu? That level isn't taught at any academy anywhere, and I don't see who in Konoha would be able to train you in it."

"Well you are right, almost… You see I wasn't really taught by anyone. I grew up alone with no parents, so I decided to educate myself at the Konoha library. While I was there I happened upon Fuinjutsu in a book explaining all the different ways of fighting. It explained the basics like sealing equipment and making explosive tags. There was little explanation about Fuinjutsu in any other regard though, and I was about to shrug it off as useless until I realized why there was so little on it. There were only two reasons that I could think of. The first thing I could think up was that there was no one in Konoha who had mastered it enough to write anything on it, which I can believe since there isn't really anyone running around sealing everything in sight. The next thing that hit me was that since the effects of a Fuinjutsu varies on how it is written, its applications are almost limitless, so I decided to experiment as much as I could, and train in the experiments that worked, and here I am today. Also, how cool does this sound, Naruto Uzumaki, Hokage of Konohagakure and Fuinjutsu Master? It has a ring to it, don't you agree."

Kakashi still had his doubts but he couldn't find a reason not to trust Naruto for now, so he decided to let the matter rest sine it didn't pose any threat to his team.

"Ok Naruto, I was just curious. Enjoy your day off."

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei."

With that, Naruto jumped away, intent on finding Hinata and have another date that hopefully ended on the same note the one last night did...

_Flashback_

_Naruto was escorting Hinata home from their date, albeit a simple one at Naruto's favorite ramen stand. On the way back to the Hyuuga compound they were discussing all the different aspects that being a Genin meant. They would get to travel around the elemental nations, meet new people, and get to grow stronger as a Shinobi. Just as they approached the Hyuuga compound and Naruto was about to say goodnight, Hinata forcefully pushed him into the closest alleyway and pinned Naruto up against the wall. Before he could utter a single word she planted her lips firmly on his. Naruto loved the more aggressive side of Hinata, it just made her… hot. It was so different from how she normally acted, and drove him crazy. After a minute or two of furious making-out the sound of someone clearing his throat made the two of them break apart._

_At the entrance of the alleyway stood none other than Hiashi Hyuuga, who narrowed his eyes at the two lovebirds._

_"I believe that you two have made your point, and I think you both should get to bed, as it is rather late."_

_"Hai Tou-san" Hinata replied before giving one last peck to Naruto's lips before running out of the alley and towards the compound with Hiashi close behind. When Hiashi reached the entrance of the alley, he did something that Naruto would never expect. He turned around and with the biggest smile on his face, and winked at Naruto, giving him a 'thumbs-up' expression before turning around again to follow his daughter home._

_'At least my hair is long enough to act as a cushion, she pushed me against the wall hard enough to give me a concussion!'_

_Naruto laughed as he rubbed the back of his head when he noticed two things. The first was that he felt like his face was on fire from the blush that spread across his face. The second was that his wrists ached, and when he looked he saw that he had hand prints from where Hinata had held him too hard. Ok, he REALLY liked this side of her._

_End Flashback_

The next few weeks passed by quite quickly, with a whole lot of D ranked missions to fill everyone's time. Naruto progressed far enough in his chakra manipulation to begin mixing different chakras together in an experimental nature. This of course was done with Kage Bunshins to avoid any unfortunate accidents, while the real Naruto worked on perfecting his sealing techniques. He took this time to rack his brain thinking of different ways to use his Fuinjutsu in the most creative way possible in battle.

In addition to training and missions Naruto also spent as much time with Hinata as possible, and began to spar with her every morning. He found that when he bribed her, usually with the prize being a date of her choosing, she could be quite the fierce competitor. Naruto still didn't use much chakra when sparring, he wanted to get just as much out of it as she did, and as a result he left with more than a few bruises. The rate she was improving was astounding, and she quickly proved that Neji wasn't the only Hyuuga genius… she just needed some drive, and Naruto was quite good at providing that drive.

The downside of spending so much time with her girlfriend was that he had to deal with her team, more specifically Kiba.

_Flashback_

_Naruto and Hinata were walking through the forest past the Hokage monument at night holding hands in silence just enjoying each other's company. Naruto wanted to take her to a secluded clearing where he could have a romantic picnic dinner with Hinata._

_When they had just gotten past the monument, Naruto noticed that Kiba was following the couple, probably intent on crashing their evening. Naruto's face became hard as anger flared within him._

_'Why won't he just leave us alone!? Sure, he was cocky in our time but now he is just being an ass. I don't know why he is so intent on intruding on one of the only happy aspects of my life!'_

**_'Naruto, you have to remember that this is an entirely new chain of events than what we have lived through. You just have to show him that you mean business, though be careful not to hurt him. He is still a clan heir.'_**

_'Don't worry. I won't hurt one of my friends… even if I really want to.'_

_Hinata noticed Naruto's face. She stopped and put a hand to his cheek, turning his head towards hers._

_"Naruto, what's wrong? I want this to be a romantic evening, but that can't happen if something is bothering you."_

_Naruto couldn't tell her that he was going to beat up one of her team mates, even if she didn't like him. Looking into her eyes rid the anger from his face, he just couldn't be angry when he looked at the person who loved him with all her being. He smiled and made a Kage Bunshin._

_"You know what to do." The clone smiled and nodded before running off._

_Naruto turned his attention to the woman standing next to him._

_"Don't worry Hina-chan. He will take care of the intrusion, let's go and enjoy ourselves huh?"_

_Hinata caught what he was hinting at. "Naruto-kun, you know I don't want you to start a fight with…"_

_She was silenced when Naruto brought her in for a passion-filled kiss that turned into a heated make-out session. After a few minutes Naruto broke the contact, leaving Hinata in a trance-like state._

_"Ready to go?" She nodded without offering any more resistance._

**_On the Outskirts of Konoha_**

_The Naruto clone had an unconscious Kiba slung across his back and a small dog under his left arm. The clone managed to sneak up on Kiba undetected and delivered a quick chop to the back of his neck. He also quickly put a suppression seal on Akamaru, who didn't take his owner getting knocked out well. When both nuisances were taken care of, the clone looked at both intruders in disgust, angered that they would go out of their way to ruin his boss's relationship. He punched Kiba hard in the face to deliver a message for when he woke up, and dropped the pair off at the Inuzuka compound._

_End Flashback_

Kiba left the pair alone for a while after that incident, but he wasn't one to give up quickly, and before a week was over he was right back to it. More often than not, he would get "taken care of" by Naruto, and the process would repeat over again.

It didn't surprise Naruto that a few days after the Genin test; Sakura sought him out for training. Naruto had given a lot of thought to her training, and the first thing Naruto decided she needed to work on was increasing her physical strength. To this end he got her a pair of 5 kilogram weights for her wrists and ankles, and had her do his physical routine. She would have complained about the situation, but she hardly had any energy left after their morning workout to even do the D-ranked missions later in the day with team 7. Naruto explained that in order to begin working on other kinds of training she first had to build up her endurance and chakra reserves.

What he didn't tell her was that his own weight was on the scale of 20 times his body weight, and that he wasn't using chakra to reinforce his muscles, so he was exerting much more energy than she was. Naruto couldn't risk teaching Sakura about Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or Taijutsu; she still had much more growing to do before he felt her reserves were high enough to handle the training he had in mind. He waited for several more weeks to pass by for Sakura's training to progress to a stage where he felt confident that she could take care of herself in a fight.

Naruto walked into the Hokage's office, acting as annoyed as he could to emphasize his point.

"Oji-san! I want a harder mission! Were ninja, not babysitters, gardeners, or painters! We deserve a harder mission!"

The Hokage was surprisingly easy to convince to give out a harder mission, perhaps it was due to Kakashi's report that Naruto had begun learning Fuinjutsu, self-taught no less. Naruto didn't care much, he would take anything he could get when it came to the old man.

"Fine, since you are so confident in your abilities, I will give you a C-ranked mission. Pack your bags, you all are going to be travelling to Nami no Kuni (land of waves) whilst guarding a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna."

'Perfect!' Naruto thought, giddy with anticipation with the challenge that lies ahead.

**END**

**AN: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and please review. I will do my best to keep up the pace of the chapters, but im not sure how well i will be the next few weeks, since the first week of college is done. I will do my best but dont be frustrated when they slow down.**

**Once again special thanks to everyone who provided criticism. Also, feel free to ask questions, cause if you have questions, odds are someone has those same questions, and i will answer them in a short FaQ next issue! thanks again everyone!**


	5. Fight With The Mist Nin

**AN: Hello Everyone. Sorry that these chapters are taking longer than normal, but im still have tons of work for school and dont have too much time to write. Im also still in the process of "editing" the first few chapters of the story, adding bits here and revising it as a whole to make it flow better.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**_Chapter 5_**

Naruto and his team sat in the Hokage's office, watching as an old man was escorted into the room by several ANBU that were stationed throughout the building. The old man reeked of alcohol, which seemed to bother Naruto more than the rest of his team, due to his heightened senses from being in contact with Kurama's chakra for so long. Naruto was still coping with the smell when the builder began to speak.

"Hell, these are the kids that are supposed to protect me? They look like they barely know how to wipe their own asses!"

The Hokage narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "I assure you, this team will be more than capable for what you have described in the mission details." The Hokage wasn't going to let this man berate any shinobi of his village, not while he was still alive.

The old man just crossed his arms across his chest. "Hmpf, whatever."

'Wow, I didn't remember him being such a jerk… I guess I was just happy to have been given a harder mission.' Naruto thought as he watched the man leave the room with enough attitude to put Sasuke to shame.

The rest of the meeting passed by uneventful, where the team was just told that they would be gone for the better part of three weeks, and should pack accordingly. As such they were all given sealing scrolls to hold their equipment and luggage. When the Hokage was about to give Naruto his scroll, he held up his hand in refusal.

"Thanks but no thanks. I make my own scrolls, so they will be able to hold more, and I'll be able to make it so that I can put in food for cold storage. So save those scrolls for the other teams when they go on long missions, I'm good!"

Sarutobi eyed Naruto carefully. "And how did you manage to make a seal to allow for cold storage? That is beyond many of the Fuinjutsu masters in Konoha, yet you seem as if it easier than forming hand seals."

Naruto smiled mischievously. "Well… it's a secret! I might tell you someday, but I'll say this, being alone for so long has given me tons of time to experiment with Fuinjutsu. The only limit there is to it is the person's creativity, so I figured that I should channel my creativity from pranks into something I could use."

'Good, I need to set up as much as a basis for my use of Fuinjutsu as possible to minimize suspicion.'

After a few more moments of observation, Sarutobi decided he would be able to learn nothing more of Naruto's mysterious progress in Fuinjutsu from the present conversation. "Very well. Kakashi, your team is to report to the front gates at 9 AM tomorrow morning. And if you are late I will personally take your precious book and make you watch as I set it on fire. Are we clear"

The very prospect of Kakashi's precious book going up in flames in the hands of a maniacal Sarutobi caused the man to go pale. "Yes Hokage-sama, I will be on time…"

The Hokage smiled pleased with his threat. "Then you are all dismissed, I suggest you all go pack now so as not to leave anything important behind. Other than that, you all have the evening off."

The whole team bowed to the Hokage before leaving his office. They all went their separate ways when they exited the building. Kakashi went to go pack and go to bed early so he couldn't possibly be late. Sasuke went to go off and… well… do whatever he does. Sakura went to go train her Ninjutsu and Genjutsu skills and when Sasuke looked over his shoulders and didn't see a pink haired girl following, he felt a sense of emptiness that was foreign to him, but he dismissed it without much thought. Naruto went to go hang out with the person most important in his life, Hinata Hyuuga.

He found her training, without her team much to Naruto's relief when he thought back to the way Kiba hounded her, and stopped to watch for a few minutes. His presence didn't go unnoticed, and he soon had to abandon his perch when a Kunai came whizzing by his head, jumping into the clearing facing Hinata. When she saw him her facial features immediately relaxed while she brightened up and she ran to him, bringing him into a tight hug.

"Naruto-kun! What brings you here, I thought that you would be training with your team or doing missions?"

Naruto bent his face down onto the top of Hinata's head and inhaled deeply. "Nah, we got a C-ranked mission. We leave tomorrow, but we will be gone for a little while, probably two to three weeks."

Hearing Naruto would be gone for a while Hinata broke off the hug, and looked at him in an almost betrayed manner.

"Why would you go away for a few weeks? I thought that we were going to go on a picnic this weekend? And why is it a C-ranked mission, those are way too dangerous for a team that just graduated from the academy!"

Naruto put on his most disarming smile. "I know, I'm sorry about that. Don't worry, you know how strong I am, there is no way someone could hurt me on a C-ranked mission!"

Hinata folded her arms across her chest and turned away from Naruto in a pout. Naruto sighed and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her stomach and whispered in her ear.

"How about this, since I won't be here this weekend let's just go on the picnic tonight? I have everything set up, plus I think that a moonlit date is better than one in the day. I already cleared it with your Father, and I just so happened to stop by the store and picked up some food."

Hinata relaxed into his embrace. *Sigh* "How do you always know the best way to make me not mad at you? It's almost like you know exactly how ill react to every sort of situation."

Naruto released her from his embrace, and turned around in a squat with his arms stretched out behind him, motioning for her to get on his back so he could carry her piggy-back style.

"I just know you too well I guess!"

Hinata giggled and got on his back, and as soon as she was secure Naruto jumped off at a very fast pace. He ran for several minutes until they were on top of the Hokage monument, and at this point the sun was just setting over the horizon, giving the sky all assortments of purples, reds, oranges, and yellows. Hinata got off Naruto's back and just stared at the view while Naruto unpacked everything from one of his specially made seals, even bring out cold drinks and hot tea. It only took a few minutes for Naruto to have everything set up, he wasn't called the "Orange Flash" for nothing.

The two talked quietly over their dinner, discussing the last few missions they had been on and about how Hinata's training had been progressing. She had been able to learn the basics of the _Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (8 Trigrams 64 Palms Technique)_ after a few weeks of training, much to her father's surprise. Naruto was also impressed, knowing full well the devastating effects that technique had on the intended target. His only conclusion was that Hinata had been born with the most hidden potential that would rival, if not surpass, Neji's. What he didn't know is that Hinata was only able to do it after the many spars with Naruto, since she would be able to go to her fullest potential in their spars.

After their dinner was over, they laid on the ground together and watched the stars come out. They just enjoyed each other's company while Naruto pointed out several constellations. They sat there for an hour or two before they headed back. To Naruto's disappointment the goodbye didn't end in a similar manner as the last one, but it was that suddenness to those kinds of moments that Naruto really loved. when Hinata was back inside her home he ran back into the forest to practice Fuinjtusu, knowing full well what was in store in the next few weeks.

**_Next Morning 9 AM_**

To everyone's surprise Kakashi was actually the first one at the gate in the morning, in fact he had gone to bed shortly after 7 the night before, and so had woken up well before the sun had risen. The three Genin made a mental note to threaten his book whenever there was an expected deadline in the future as extra insurance. When Tazuna showed up a little later, the team headed out of the gates. After a few hours of walking Naruto noticed that they were approaching the Demon Brother's trap, something he had carefully planned for a while back.

Kakashi knew that they were walking into a trap, but decided to let the three see if they could come up with anything to counter the trap. After they passed the puddle on the ground, Naruto turned to his team.

"Hey guys, you go on ahead, I gotta go to the bathroom real quick. I'll catch up in a jiffy."

Sasuke chirped up. "Don't get lost Dobe, I don't wanna have to come find your ass later."

"Wouldn't dream of it Teme, who would babysit you if I got lost?"

Naruto didn't hear the 'Hn' as he ran back to the puddle in the road, pulling down his pants and relieving himself all over the ninja hidden in the puddle. The ninja simply didn't know how to respond, partly out of rage but mostly out of the fact that never in a million years would he have guessed that he would be peed on whilst on an assassination mission.

As the blonde haired boy walked away, the ninja arose from the puddle, intent on killing the boy for his blatant insult. The ninja's chain wrapped around the boy, seeming to strangle him and break several bones in his spine. Satisfied that his work was done he released the chains and the boy fell to the ground, but as soon as the body hit the ground it erupted into a cloud of smoke. The ninja looked around for the boy, and heard a faint voice behind him, causing him to turn completely around as the boy started to talk.

"Heh, gotchya. _Fuinjutsu: Furubodibaindingu (Full Body Binding)_."

Unlike Naruto's first seal on Kakashi during the bell test, this seal was at full power, and it would take a large amount of chakra to break it, more than this Chunnin could muster. Naruto watched as the ninja struggled to break free, while Naruto placed a tag on the ninjas head.

"_Fuinjutsu: Kyōdo Sutorējikontena (Power Storage Container)"_

The ninja gasped as he felt his strength being drained very quickly, and right before he was about to pass out, he looked up as the boy removed the tag.

"This seal is meant to drain your chakra and store it. Imagine if you will it acts as a battery, and should I wish it I could draw upon this tag for chakra sometime in the future should I run out."

The Chunnin was barely able to stay conscious. "But… H-How is this p-possible? I've never heard of such a seal before."

Naruto gave him a devious smile. "That is because it is my own creation, Fuinjtusu is only limited by the user's imagination."

With that Naruto quickly knocked the ninja out, and ran back to his team only to find Kakashi had already taken care of the second ninja. As Naruto approached, everyone seemed to tense up, but relaxed soon after seeing the recognizable face.

"Sorry about that guys, this mist ninja attacked me after I accidentally peed all over him, so needless to say he was a little pissed. But hey, better pissed off than pissed on, right guys?"

Kakashi was the first to speak. "Well I guess there is no doubt that this is Naruto. How were you able to take him out though? And with such ease?"

"Well, after I went to the bathroom I started asking why there was a puddle on the road when it hadn't rained in well over a week, so I carefully did a _Kawarimi (Substitution) _with a Kage Bunshin, and when he thought he had me in his chain attack I hit him with a binding seal which held him down. I put one of my _Kyōdo Sutorējikontena_ on him, which drained all his chakra for me to use at a later time."

Everyone's eyes widened at the last part, especially Kakashi. He had never heard of such a technique, and the applications of the technique could bring even a Kage to their knees. He was a little frightened at what else this young Genin would produce in the future.

"I must say Naruto, I am quite impressed that you were able to devise such a technique by yourself."

Naruto flashed him a grin. "What can I say, I have had a lot of time to myself growing up."

Sasuke just stared at Naruto, he couldn't believe this, this dobe, and this dead-last loser had managed to take out a Mist Chunnin with such ease. Something wasn't right, it just didn't add up for him. He didn't have much time to sulk as Kakashi decided they should move again.

"Anyway, Naruto since you were gone, we managed to get some information from Tazuna here. According to the information he provided, this has now become a B-ranked mission, maybe even an A ranked one. Sakura and Sasuke have already answered, but my question to you is whether or not you want to continue."

"Hell yeah! Let's tie up these losers, send a message back to Konoha, and continue on to Wave country!"

Kakashi smirked behind his mask. "Alright. Let's get a move on then after we tie up these ninja."

The next few days were rather uneventful, they walked along the main road and so avoided confrontation with most of the bandits that would otherwise block their path. Kakashi took this time to explain the inner meanings of chakra and how they can be applied in various ways, but Naruto simply took the time to think about other ways he could use Fuinjtusu since he had already mastered most of the finer techniques of chakra, though he could never be finished with chakra control. It was only after a week had passed that Naruto prepared for his battle with Zabuza, ready to push his teammates further to make them stronger.

Naruto lessened the gravity seals he had placed upon himself, just in case any trouble presented itself. He had to be ready for any ambush that Gato could throw at him. He especially had to be careful for Zabuza, who had taken longer to strike this time around.

Naruto thought back to when he placed gravity seals upon himself, so as to shed the weights that would otherwise take time to remove during combat. The gravity seal could be lessened instantly with a little chakra which could do wonders in a fight, where a punch could be given with a much higher speed by lessening the seal, or could increase the seal to give a kick much more power than normal.

During Naruto's daydreaming, a heavy mist flooded the field they were walking through, causing the entire group to tense up. Kakashi gave the order for the Genin to group around Tazuna while the missing-nin Momochi Zabuza attacked Kakashi thinking him to be the largest threat. The two began a vicious fight and used many high level jutsus, but Naruto wouldn't let this chance to try out some different Fuinjutsu to go unused, so he created a few Kage Bunshin to guard Tazuna.

"Sasuke, Sakura, let's get in there and help out Kakashi, lets show this Zabuza what we can really do!"

Sasuke smirked. "I like the sound of that Dobe, I just hope your Kage Bunshin don't get scared and run away."

Naruto chuckled. "Don't worry Teme, they are more than able to take care of themselves, just don't get too full of yourself out there and make me come rescue your sorry ass."

"Hn"

The three Genin charged a surprised Zabuza, who was just about to give Kakashi a nasty cut across his chest with his massive sword, but Sasuke was able to change the direction of the sword by attempting a kick to Zabuza's sword-wielding arm. Sasuke used the kick to hit Zabuza's hands and save his Sensei from a serious wound.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, Zabuza was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist for a reason, and used the momentum from his massive sword to turn himself around and kick Sasuke hard in the gut, sending him flying.

"Sakura now!" Saskue shouted as he was flying back.

Zabuza looked up to see a pink-haired Kunoichi descending rapidly and throwing several Kunai aimed at his head. Zabuza was surprised when the Kunai began descending toward his body with incredible speeds, more than what he could expect gravity to accomplish.

'Those are moving way too fast for a simple Genin. It's almost as if… Wait… Is that a gravity seal on the Kunai!? If that hits me I'm done for! I have to get out of here…'

Zabuza jumped back right to Naruto who was lying in wait for him. Zabuza sensed the boy behind and twisted his body to face the new challenger the two began a quick Taijutsu fight, with Naruto doing his best to avoid displaying more skill than what was expected of a Genin. While Naruto was unable to land a direct hit on the missing-nin, he had been able to place several inactive gravity seals on the sword he was wielding, the Kubikiribōchō, without Zabuza noticing. With the addition of some of Naruto's chakra, the seals slowly started to move up the sword and down the handle to imprint themselves onto different parts of Zabuza's body. Zabuza was completely unaware of the small seals snaking their way onto his arms and legs, and after about a minute more; Zabuza kicked Naruto into Sakura who was running towards Zabuza knocking them both away.

Zabuza began to laugh in triumph; he defeated a famed Jounin of Konoha and his entire Genin team with little effort. "You are all pathetic. I expected more from you, Sharingan Kakashi. Why don't you stop playing games and fight me for real before I start killing your team one by one?"

To everyone's surprise it was Naruto that was the first to speak.

"It is only common knowledge that one doesn't reveal their trump card until the moment they need it most. And besides, we have already won! You lose, just give up."

Zabuza clutched his stomach bent over in laughter. "HAHAHAHA! Oh man kid that was a good one. What makes you think you've won? You are just some kid who got too excited after being in their first real battle!"

Naruto smirked and raised his hands in a chakra molding seal. "This is why I think we've won." And Naruto then activated the multitude of seals on Zabuza.

"_Fuinjutsu: Menimienai Mobariu Jūryoku Shīru (Invisible Mobile Gravity Seal)!_"

Zabuza felt his body become heavier than gold, and was forced to the ground on his hands and knees, unable to lift a single finger. It took all his chakra channeled to his vital organs and blood vessels just so that they could still function properly.

Still looking at the ground he managed to mutter. "H-How? How did you d-do that!?"

"It was easy, your huge sword blocks your vision for a split second, and that is all I need to place one of my seals. Sure, just one wouldn't be enough to take you down, but 20 of them? Not even the strongest Kage would be able to move properly with that many gravity seals on his body."

(Somewhere in Kumogakure, the Raikage sneezed)

Just as Zabuza was about to speak again, senbon needles came out of the tree line and implanted themselves into Zabuza's neck, thus putting him in a comatose state. A mist ANBU came out of the trees to greet the group.

"Thank you Konoha Shinobi. I appreciate your assistance in taking down the missing-nin Momochi Zabuza and I can assure you he will be brought to justice for his crimes. The Mizukage will be very grateful for your assistance in bringing down such a notorious criminal. Now I must retrieve the body."

Kakashi eyed the ANBU carefully, but sighed and nodded his head, letting the ANBU take the "corpse" with him. It took a lot of willpower for Naruto to hold his tongue and not say anything or try and stop Haku, knowing that the next battle would be a very important stage for Saskue's growth, not to mention he could potentially save Zabuza and Haku.

'Damn, I could've ended that so easily if I lessened my gravity seals Kurama. Don't you think being ten times heavier is just a bit much?'

**'No, this is the only way for you to hold yourself back without arousing suspicion. If you went all out what would your friends think? This is the same reason you can't use the Rasengan or any other jutsu you have been practicing till the Chunnin exams. Then you can at least have the excuse that you met Jiraiya."**

'I still think this charade is stupid, surely at least Kakashi would understand?'

**'Even if he did, I don't want him to find out unless he is able to figure it out for himself. That was one of the stipulations of my training, remember?'**

'Yeah… I remember. Whatever, he will figure it out soon enough, he is too smart for his own goon you know.'

Kakashi turned to his students, somewhat upset and somewhat pleased.

"Well it would seem that the three of you have gotten the teamwork aspect of missions down to a T. Saskue, I'm surprised that you would throw yourself in so recklessly, but thank you for saving me from Zabuza's sword. Sakura, you have gotten much better in your support role. I could barely follow your Kunai with my normal eye, and if the sun was out, he wouldn't have been able to see clearly and you would have taken him down. Naruto, excellent application of your gravity seals, you continue to surprise me over and over."

The three Genin looked very pleased with themselves while Kakashi showed them some praise. "Well now that the compliments are over, I never want you three to pit yourself against an enemy like Zabuza again. No matter how well you three work together and whatever strategy you have, if it risks the life of one of your comrades you don't do it. That would be the same as betraying your comrade and dooming them to die. Not to mention that you left our charge completely unprotected, with the exception of a few flimsy Kage Bunshin. Now, let's get Tazuna and take him to his house."

**_Several Hours Later_**

The group arrived at the bridge builder's house and got some well-deserved rest that night. Everyone was sore from the insane amount of walking that they had done over the last week, and each of them had more than a few blisters to show for it.

The next week the group worked on chakra control and much to Kakashi and Saskue's surprise Sakura and Naruto were able to already perform the basic control tests.

They all started off with the tree walking exercise. First Sasuke ran at the tree focusing chakra to his feet. He got about a quarter of the way up before his chakra flared and he lost his footing. He pushed against the tree and twisted his body to land on the ground perfectly.

Kakashi looked at his pupil. "Great job Sasuke. You have to concentrate the whole time though, or your chakra will continue to flare like that and you will lose your grip on the surface you are walking. Naruto, you're up next."

Naruto smirked and put his hands behind his had walking lazily towards the tree.

'If I'm going to do these stupid exercises than I'm going to at least show off a bit!'

Naruto calmly walked up the full length of the tree and stopped to hang upside down from one of the branches at the top. He yawned and looked towards the group. "Hey guys, you look pretty small from all the way up here! Kakashi-sensei, can I go do my own training since I'm good here? I wanna go and work on my Fuinjutsu."

Kakashi was stunned momentarily. "Uhhh… sure, go ahead Naruto… just be back before dusk…"

Naruto jumped away and left his team dumbfounded. Kakashi sighed and turned to his other pupils and noticed both their faces showed a mixture of disbelief, jealousy, and confusion.

Sakura was trying to figure out how the village idiot was so proficient at chakra control. 'How did he do that!? Sasuke-kun couldn't get up even a quarter of the tree but he did it no sweat! There is no way that Naruto is better than...' She stopped her train of thought when she remembered her conversation with Naruto. 'Don't think like that! I have to treat Sasuke-kun like any other person and show him my own strength! Enough of this fan-girl crap!'

Sakura ran towards the tree with chakra around her feet and climbed all the way up the tree. When she reached the top she was sweating lightly and breathing hard.

Sasuke looked at her with almost as much disbelief as when he saw Naruto climb.

'Great, now not only is the dobe better than me, but Sakura too? What is this, she was never this good before. And what was that crap with Zabuza? Kakashi says he could barely follow her, I didn't see anything! It was like she was a blur… just how strong is she?'

Kakashi was pleased with his students' progress, but there was obvious room for improvement. "Sasuke, I want you to continue with this exercise until you have it down flat. Don't get discouraged, Sakura did make it up the tree but her chakra reserves are small so it is easier for her to control it. You just have to get the hang of it. Sakura, I want you to continue this exercise for as long as you can to build up your reserves."

There were two resounding "Hai's" and Kakashi turned to face the direction Naruto jumped off to. 'Now where did Naruto go… His absurdly huge amount of chakra should make control exercises difficult but he has already mastered this exercise… I wonder how long he has been training on his own.'

**_With Naruto_**

Naruto was by himself working on his Fuinjutsu supposedly alone. In reality he summoned sixty Kage Bunshin and had them work on each elemental chakra manipulation, and had ten working on the leaf-on-the-forehead chakra control exercise while the real Naruto worked on Fuinjutsu with Kurama.

This training regimen continued for the next few days, with Sasuke and Sakura working with Kakashi on building their skills in working with chakra while Naruto went off to train on his own.

Naruto was in a clearing early in the morning resting after he dispelled his clones and became fatigued with chakra exhaustion. He was only resting for a few minutes when he felt a presence approach him, one he recognized immediately.

"Hello there ninja-kun, what are you up to?"

Naruto looked up at the boy before answering. "I'm training my skills as a Shinobi so that I can protect those close to me from anyone who would try and harm them."

The boy seemed taken aback by the determination in Naruto's eyes. "That is a very honorable goal you have."

"Yeah, but I can't help but feel like I only exist as a tool. I mean, the leader of my village uses me as a tool to do missions, my sensei uses me as a tool to show he can make three Genin stronger, and my friends use me as a tool to protect themselves."

Haku again found himself at a loss for words. "But… aren't they your precious people?"

Naruto scowled and folded his arms across his chest. "I don't think precious people would use me as a tool. I think that a person who REALLY cares about me would see me more as a member of their family, rather than just a useful tool to be used in any way they see fit. Anyway, I have to get back to training. See Ya!"

Naruto stood up and left Haku there to ponder the conversation, seeing that the boy was now mentally battling himself on the meaning of his own existence.

The week passed by rather quickly, and the day came for their rematch with Zabuza and Haku on the bridge, and so Naruto intentionally overslept to deal with the Shinobi sent to kill Tazuna's family. Naruto left shortly after his team heading for the bridge and headed out into the nearby trees, focusing in on the readings he was receiving from the hired goons.

'Kurama, I think this is a good enough time to try out some of my new jutsu?'

**'Fine, but be careful, we still don't know what happens when we mix different chakra elements like this. It's still all just theory, remember that, just theory. We have no clue if it'll work.'**

'That is why I said this is a good time to _experiment_!'

Naruto was snapped back to reality by the leader of the assassins when Naruto jumped on the branch in front of the group.

"Crap, we have to deal with this brat of a ninja first? This has gotta be the biggest pain-in-the-ass job ever!"

The rest of the team laughed with him, while Naruto just counted the number of them. 'four, perfect'.

Naruto looked out to the group of men. "Well too bad this will be your last job, oh, and I suggest you look up."

They all looked up to see Kage Bunshin drop down from up high, planting a kick to the stomach sending them all to the same spot on the forest floor while the real Naruto was on the ground gathering chakra for his next jutsu.

Naruto slammed his palms on the ground. "_Doton: Fukai Haka no Jutsu (Deep Grave)!"_

All four ninja fell into the deep hole that ran close to ten meters deep. The leader of the group who had actually fought Shinobi before was confused as to how this kid was able to make a hole that deep that fast. He had little time to worry about it as Naruto continued with his string of jutsu.

Naruto arched his back then in a vomiting motion began to fill the hole with lava. "_Yoton: Rutsu Bo no Jutsu (Lava Release: Melting Pot)!_"

The screams coming from the crater caused Naruto to shudder from past memories. Even though he was prepared for it, he still hated having to take a life, no matter who's it was.

**'Naruto, don't let it get to you. They have killed enough innocent people to warrant such a punishment. I'm not saying it's right for us to deal out justice, but you have to think about how many people you are saving.'**

'I know, but it doesn't make this any easier. If I could talk them out of this I would, but I know they would never listen. Now I have to end this.'

Naruto once again gathered chakra, preparing to finish his string of jutsu.

"_Doton: Chikyū Teikoku Sōgi (Earth Imperial Funeral)"_

A huge slab of earth slid over the opening of the hole, silencing the screams of the men inside. Naruto let out a quick sigh getting ready to go to the bridge to help his team, but was hit by a wave of exhaustion. He reeled back on his heels, and put the chakra absorption seal he used on the Demon Brothers on himself, reversing the flow to replenish his lost chakra before heading off to the bridge as fast as he could.

He quickly shoved the feelings of disgust down and changed thoughts to revel in his success.

'Kurama, it worked! It really worked!' He mentally shouted.

Kurama winced at the volume of Naruto's voice. **'Heh, I guess it does. I guess that my theory was correct. Now are you glad you listened to me?'**

'You bet I am, but I really wasn't expecting the exhaustion that came with it. It felt like I just threw five _Rasenshurikens_ in succession. I guess I need to work more on my chakra manipulation to decrease the amount of chakra used. But still, I can't believe your theory was right.'

_Flashback 8 Years, Naruto is 4 years old_

_Naruto was out in one of the many training fields he frequented, doing his usual strength building regimen. After he worked up a sweat he took a break under the shade of one of the trees, and he soon found himself asleep and face to face with Kurama._

**_'Naruto, I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now. Since you are now able to move and practice chakra manipulations, I think it's time I stepped up your training. Now, before we begin your 8 year training regimen, I think I should tell you about a little theory I developed about Kekki Genkais that I've been working on for some time.'_**

_'What kind of theory is that?'_

**_'Well, I started thinking about what made Kekki Genkais so special. I think that it's only special in the fact that it allows a person develop more than one elemental affinity, thus making them able to use certain types of advance nature jutsu. Granted this doesn't apply to certain physical ones like the Sharingan or Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku, but the ones that deal with elements I think it applies. So this means that if you were to reach a certain level of efficiency in chakra manipulation I think that you SHOULD be able to replicate those advance jutsus to some degree.'_**

_'I never thought of that, but it does make sense. Would that mean I could use Roshi's Yoton (Roshi is the Jinchuriki of the 4 tails, Son Goku) or the Tsuchikage's Jinton (Dust Release)?'_

**_'I'm saying you could use any of them so long as they don't require a physical alteration to your body. Of course, these wouldn't be as strong as the real deal, but with practice, you should be able to use them with some degree of proficiency. Hell, you might be able to combine them in new ways!'_**

_'Kurama, you got my blood boiling! Let's get this started.'_

**_'Slow down Naruto, I'm talking about many years down the road._**

_'Crap, oh well, let's just start then.'_

_End Flashback_

Naruto arrived on the bridge in time to see Saskue trying to fight off Haku with the aid of Sakura. Kakashi, who had already revealed his Sharingan eye, was likewise fighting with Zabuza, while Tazuna was hiding in the corner of the bridge. Naruto decided to deal with Haku first, deciding to knock him out to prevent his death. As Naruto rushed Haku, Zabuza once again enacted his thick mist jutsu, thus giving the signal for Haku to trap all three of the Genin inside his _Hyoton: Hyoro no Jutsu (Ice Prison Jutsu)_. Haku then began throwing senbon needles at each of the three, making them try in vain to dodge.

'Damn, this is way too different from last time. Why the hell is Sakura even in here? Oh well, I guess I'll have to protect them both.'

After a few lucky dodges Naruto turned to his raven-haired team mate. "Sasuke! These needles are too fast for us to see! You need to use your Sharingan to help us predict where they're coming from! If you don't get your second Tomoe or we're all dead!"

Sasuke sent an angry glare to Naruto while dodging more needles. "Shut up dobe! What do you think I'm trying to do? Why don't you just whip out one of your fancy new seals, huh? You acted all tough this whole week and now you say that I need to be stronger!? I'm so sick and tired of feeling inferior to you! I just want to be strong! I just… I just…"

He stopped talking when he felt a peculiar surge of chakra to his eyes, and suddenly his eyesight became many times magnified, and the needles seemed to be moving much slower, slow enough to see with his eyes and predict.

Sasuke's face brightened up. "I did it! I got it! I can see them! Sakura! Watch out!"

Saskue tackled Sakura to the ground as needles flew where they had previously been standing. When Saskue opened his eyes and saw he was on top of Sakura in a very lewd position, he sub-consciously blushed. When he realized that he was blushing he quickly got up and turned away from Sakura.

Sasuke mentally berated himself. 'The hell was that? I don't blush! That is for the stupid girls who follow me around to do!'

Sakura had a different train of thought. 'What the… Did he just blush? YES! YES YES YES! I can't believe Naruto was right! This is actually working, I just have to keep going with it.'

Naruto snapped them out of their fantasy world. "If you lovebirds are finished I think we should focus on the problem at hand."

"Right." Saskue and Sakura said in unison.

"Ok guys, I know how Haku gets from mirror to mirror. He jumps very, very fast between them. When he does this we will do the same thing we did to Kakashi during the bell training."

"Hai."

"Go!"

Haku decided to act before giving them a chance to formulate a plan so he charged at Sakura, thinking she was the weakest of the group. Right as he was about to hit her, Naruto jumped up from below the ground and grabbed Haku's legs momentarily, placing two gravity seals on Haku's legs, pinning him down to the ground momentarily.

Haku looked down at Naruto who flashed him a grin and disappeared in a puff of smoke. 'A Kage Bunshin?' He then looked at his immobile legs. 'Good thing Zabuza-sama taught me how to break these types of seals. This should only hold me for a few moments before I break them.'

Just as Haku broke the seals, he heard Saskue start his attack.

"_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Grand Fireball)_"

Haku barely had time to jump up and avoid the fireball, seeing the edges of his clothes get singed. Haku made sure he jumped in the direction of one of his mirrors, but right as Haku thought he was in the clear, he looked up and saw Sakura falling towards him and managed to land a devastating punch to his face, sending him flying to the ground. Haku was rendered unconscious from the attack, thus ending the ice-prison jutsu.

The fight between Zabuza and Kakashi was just about to end with Kakashi about to summon his ninja dogs to hold down the swordsman, when they both sensed the end of Haku's jutsu. Zabuza, thinking his student had killed the three, ended his mist jutsu. They were shocked to see his student unconscious and tied up, but were further shocked to see Zabuza's employer Gato at the other end of the bridge with all his cronies.

Kakashi turned to Zabuza. "Well, it would seem like your former employer no longer has any intention of paying you to finish your mission. In fact, it would seem he wants you to die along with the bridge builder, but I don't think either you or I want that."

Zabuza chuckled. "For once Sharingan Kakashi, I think we see eye to eye. No pun intended."

Kakashi flashed an eye-smile. "Then what say we take care of Gato. We will settle this later."

The pair turned to face the large group of hired thugs. "Agreed."

The three Genin were content to simply watch their sensei take care of the goons. Gato and his men had little chance against the elite Jounin, as they were all taken care of in the most brutal manner, with Gato himself being left for Zabuza. Gato didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of surviving, and Zabuza's sword lived up to its name as the "Meat cleaver".

Before long the mercenaries, and Gato himself, were taken care of and Kakashi and Zabuza decided to finish their duel to the death. It wasn't part of a mission anymore; it was a sense of pride now.

The two fought for several minutes until Kakashi summoned his nin-dogs to hold Zabuza down before charging a _Raikiri_. Kakashi charged Zabuza Sharingan blazing ready to end his life. Right before Kakashi was about to kill the swordsman, he was stopped by a rather sharp yell from one of his students.

"STOP!"

Kakashi turned to face his blonde student, letting his _Raikiri_ dissipate. Saskue and Sakura couldn't help but stare as their fellow Genin approach the Jounins, wondering what he could be thinking.

Kakashi turned back to Zabuza taking out a Kunai. "Naruto, he is too dangerous to be left alive, if he escapes he could kill too many innocent people."

Naruto put a hand on his Kunai and pulled his hand down. "Kakashi wait, he isn't a raging monster. Even if he is, he still has a conscious; he still has people he cares about." Naruto noticed Zabuza look at Haku, and Zabuza saw Naruto watch him. "Isn't that right Zabuza-san?"

Zabuza became flustered. "SHUT IT KID! That boy over there is just a tool for me, just a means to an end. I don't care about him."

Naurto shook his head. "You and I both know that isn't true. Why would you protect him so hard if it was? If you really didn't care about him he would have been dead long ago. Why did you lower your mist technique then? It wasn't to see if Haku had killed us; it was because you felt his mirrors break down and wanted to check on him."

"So what if I lowered my mist!? Why would you care? You don't care about me and you sure as hell don't care about him!"

Naruto went over to Zabuza and looked directly into his eyes. The eyes Zabuza stared into weren't those of a kid, they were the eyes of a man who had seen all his friends be cut down around him. They were eyes that said they would do anything to save a life, even if it was an enemy.

"No Zabuza, I do care. I am the person who will bring peace to the ninja system. I will end the hatred felt by Shinobi, even if I have to shoulder it all myself, and I'll start right now by releasing you of your hatred."

Zabuza didn't know what to think, he couldn't keep up his false bravado anymore, and he knew that he was too tired to take out Kakashi and his team. He decided to give his life in one last act of redemption for Haku.

Zabuza fell to his knees. "Kill me if you have to… just spare Haku. He doesn't deserve to live the way he has been with me. He deserves better, a life in a peaceful village with friends and people who care about him. Do with me what you have to."

This time it was Kakashi who spoke. "Well you see; Konoha and mist aren't really on that good of terms with the whole Kekki Genkai purge and the civil war. So if you were to say, come back to Konoha you would be put in prison for a few weeks, maybe interrogated a tad, but otherwise unharmed. Haku however isn't in any Bingo Book that I know of, so he should be able to join the ranks of the Konoha Shinobi. Hell, if you prove yourself Zabuza, I'm sure the Hokage can find a position for you to fill if you are cleared. What do you say?"

Zabuza shook his head. "I already told you, as long as the boy is taken care of, I will submit myself to any punishment you all decide."

Kakashi put his Kunai away. "Very well, it would seem we will be having two more people coming back with us to Konoha. Just as a precaution, Naruto I want you to put chakra absorption seals on Zabuza and Haku to limit their chakra, just until we explain their situation to the Hokage and he can explain it to everyone. The first impression you guys make will be the most important one, and the seal will show your submission."

The group stayed for a few more days to clean up anyone left of Gato's little group of thugs, and to insure no retribution came to Tazuna or his family.

Tazuna completed the bridge, but still had to name it. Inari came up with the 'Great Naruto Bridge', and needless to say the young blonde was pleased with the name. Soon the group began to make their way back to Konoha. All the while Naruto, Sakura, and to some extent Saskue, talked with Haku about his past, his strengths, his jutsu, and about how his new life in Konoha would be much better.

When they reached Konoha, the guards didn't give too much thought as they saw Kakashi and his team, but palled when they noticed the mass murderer Zabuza. The same reaction could be seen in many of the people they passed on their way to the Hokage's office. Naruto noticed how Zabuza seemed to glare at the guards and the people they passed; obviously trying to tell them he wasn't going to be pushed around in this unfamiliar village.

Naruto looked up at Zabuza. "Don't worry, you will get used to it Zabuza-san. Once the people warm up to you it'll be much better."

As Zabuza was scanning the crowds, he began to notice that not everyone was focused on him. In fact, they seemed to be glaring more at Naruto than at Zabuza.

"It seems that they are a tad scared of me based on my reputation, but they seem to hate you. Their eyes say that if they were given the chance they would rip you limb from limb. Why is that kid?"

Saskue and Sakura also picked up on this, and were now listening intently to the next words Naruto would say.

"Hell if I know, but stick around long enough, and I'm sure you'll find out."

They reached the office easy enough, but getting past the ANBU guards took some serious empty threats plus the promise of consequences from the Hokage himself. When Kakashi made his way to the Hokage's office and ran into another group of ANBU, he demanded an audience with the Hokage, despite the fact that Momochi Zabuza was behind him. The ANBU couldn't help but group together and follow the group into the office, just in case the man decided to try anything.

The meeting with the Hokage went relatively well, at least as well as it could have gone. Zabuza was to report to Ibiki and Anko to give whatever information he possessed on both the Mist's purge and the current civil war, and on any of his criminal contacts, though Zabuza informed Sarutobi that any interrogation methods wouldn't be necessary. Zabuza would then spend some time incarcerated until such as time as he could prove that he would have loyalties towards Konoha. Haku, on the other hand, would be allowed to become a Konoha Shinobi outright, though it would be undecided as to which team he would join.

When all the terms were negotiated for Zabuza's surrender Sarutobi stood up. "Great. I'm glad that Haku could join us as a Konoha Shinobi, and just in time too."

Saskue, Sakura, and Haku all asked in unison, even though Naruto knew what the answer would be. "In time for what Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen turned to them with a smile. "Well, the Chunnin Exams of course!"

**END**

**AN: Hello again everyone. Once again thank you for reading and i hope everyone enjoyed the latest chapter.**

**I hope everyone liked my little explanation about Kekki Genkais, cause i mean, it makes sense and i dont know why no one else thought to try it!**

**Please review, and if you dont like Naruto being able to use Kekki Genkais like that, carefully write out why, then very, very slowly, shove it.**


	6. Training for the Chunnin Exams

**AN: Hello again everyone. Here you go , yet another chapter from yours truly! Hope everyone enjoys it!**

**I own nothing contained in this chapter, i just wrote it...**

**_Chapter 6_**

**_Uchiha Compound 2 Weeks after Their Return_**

Sasuke was laying on his futon, contemplating the events that had happened in the past few weeks. What was bother him wasn't the fact that he was going to be participating in the Chunnin exams, no, he was expecting that as the proper course of action for an elite of his status. What had really irked him was that he had seen Naruto, the same kid that had once skipped class to deface the Hokage monuments, fight on even grounds with one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and had managed to take him down.

'It just doesn't add up. First Sakura starts leaving me alone for once, and now Naruto is starting to get really strong? I need to find out what is going on around here.'

Sasuke got off his futon and got ready for his one of his special lessons with Kakashi. Now that he had unlocked the second tomoe of his Sharingan Kakashi began having special training sessions with Sasuke to train his new eyes. Kakashi also mentioned that he would let them have some time off to do personal training for the few weeks leading up to the Chunnin exams.

Sasuke left his house in a rush, wanting to get in as much training as possible to prepare for the upcoming trials. He dashed off quickly to training field 6, an hour or so late just to be sure that Kakashi would be there.

**_Training Field 29_**

Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura were in the furthest training field from Konoha, an extra precaution so as to keep anyone from accidentally stumbling upon them. Naruto had Hinata and Sakura spar for the better part of the morning, all the while giving pointers to both Kunoichi on how to improve their form.

Over the last few weeks Sakura had made some huge improvements in here Taijutsu and Genjutsu abilities. The training weights she wore, while nowhere near the level of strain Naruto subjected himself to, were still quite heavy, almost doubling her weight.

Though she may have improved, she was still dealt with quite easily by Hinata, who had been sparring with Naruto for many years. Thanks to his tutelage she was able to perfect the _Kaiten_ and getting close in the _Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (64 Palm Strikes)_. Unknown to Naruto, Hinata was also experimenting with her chakra and began developing a jutsu of her own, though no one but her knew about it.

After the 67th defeat, Sakura couldn't take anymore punishment, "I feel like my limbs are going to fall off! Naruto, why can't I take off these stupid weights when I spar? I'm never going to land so much as a hit with these things on!"

"If you take off your weights too early on in the fight, the enemy may have enough time to counter and get used to your heightened speed. If you save it until they feel confident in their victory, then you can deal a psychological blow and catch the enemy by surprise. Being a ninja is about stealth and concealing ones true strength."

"Ugh, whatever… Hey, I've been meaning to ask, why can't I use gravity seals like you do? I mean, they would be much more convenient wouldn't they? I mean, they can be lowered without warning, so if you were to well, do a roundhouse kick, and then increase the weight in your leg, you could add more power to your kick!"

"You are correct, you can do so, and I can assure you that it does have that effect. It comes at a price, however, if you were to slip up and accidentally add to much chakra to the seal and increase the weight too much, then you could change the trajectory of the kick and allow the enemy to dodge, and perhaps end the fight before you would be able to change it back. So it isn't that you can't use the gravity seal, it's just that I don't think you are ready to handle it yet."

"Well if what you are saying is true, then you would have to have the chakra control of a mid-level Jounin to handle yourself in fights with the seal as you do…"

Hinata decided to pipe in, seeing where the conversation was going, "That isn't the case; Naruto-kun has just had a lot of time to get used to the seals, years in fact. I just don't think he wants you to try learning something so potentially dangerous before the Chunnin exams."

Sakura seemed to see the logic of Hinata's words and so dropped the matter. Naruto gave a head nod towards Hinata, thankful she was able to help keep the secret he had decided to tell her the night before, well one of his secrets that is.

_Flashback Previous Night_

_After Zabuza was taken away to be questioned about his past and the Mist village and Haku had been officially registered as a Konoha Shinobi, the group split up. Sakura went with Haku to show him his new apartment, which so happened to be the room a floor below where Naruto's was, Kakashi disappeared as he always did, and Sasuke went to do what he always did; train. This left Naruto alone for the evening, and he decided that it would be a good time to visit with his 'Hina-hime'._

_He picked her up from her home, and strangely Hiashi gave him another strange wink with a thumbs-up. Naruto didn't dwell on what that meant too much, and decided to drop it altogether when he asked Hinata, who turned a bright crimson after he mentioned the weird behavior._

**_'Brat are you just acting, or are you truly this stupid? It is painfully obvious what her father is trying to imply…'_**

_Naruto winced as images flashed through his head, ones that he would expect to find in one of Jiraya's infamous "books"._

_'Kurama, get your mind out of the gutter. We are barely 13.'_

**_'Though this is different in the civilian world, the life of a Shinobi is full of danger, and so they tend to marry at a young age… And you do know what happens after marriage right?'_**

_'Kami Kurama, lay off. It isn't going to happen anytime soon. Besides, I am sure that Hinata would never EVER go through with "that" not to mention Hiashi would have my head if I tried an idiotic stunt like that.'_

**_'I don't think you give that man enough credit brat, I can see that he is a closet pervert that could rival Kakashi, and I think he would be just fine with-'_**

_'ENOUGH KURAMA! Don't ruin my date with Hinata.'_

**_'Fine, I'll just go back to sleep…'_**

_"Uh… Naruto-kun? Are you ok? You spaced out for a little and it looked like you were having an argument with someone…"_

_"Sorry Hina-chan, I was just thinking about some things, we should get going, and I made some plans at the restaurant in town"_

_Naruto quickly grabbed Hinata's hand and ran to the restaurant in full haste, seeing as how the sun was already beginning to go down over the horizon. When they reached their destination, the owner personally came out and told the two that they were filled to capacity and couldn't fit anymore inside. Both Naruto and Hianta could feel the spite and anger in the man's words, and while Naruto was used to it, it left Hinata wondering what was going on. Naruto had been through this charade one to many times, and knew that he had no hope of gaining entry. Naruto decided that it would be best if they just went to his favorite ramen stand, so he quickly turned heel and went back the way they came._

_When they were about half way to their destination, Hinata suddenly stopped and pulled her hand out of his, causing Naruto to turn around with a questioning look on her face, though he already knew what she was going to ask._

_"Naruto, I want you to be honest with me. For the past few months, whenever I am with you in public, we always receive angry glares from most of the villagers, the older ones at least. Even some of the older Jounin look at you with disgust. At first I thought that it was from all the pranks you pulled, but then I realized that this was a deep seated hatred of you, like they hated the fact that you were breathing the same air they were. What is going on?"_

_Naruto looked into her eyes and saw that there was absolutely no way he would be getting out of this without telling her his status as a Jinchuriki, though he knew it would be hard for her._

_Letting out a sigh he held out his hand, "Well, I guess I have no choice. Take my hand, ill Shunshin us somewhere private."_

_Hinata once again took his hand, and an instant later they were on top of the Hokage monument, namely Minato's head._

_"Well I would like to start off by saying that I never want you to know about this until further down the road. It isn't that I don't trust you, it's just that this is an S-class secret and I didn't want you to be scared of what I am."_

_"What are you talking about? Nothing could ever make me-"_

_"Hold that thought until you hear what I have to say. As you well know 13 years ago the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, though no one knows why, it attacked with a vengeance and killed many people. Everyone did their best to fight the beast, but no one was strong enough to stop the Kyuubi. Eventually, the Yondaime Hokage came and fought the beast in a one-on-one fight to the death."_

**_'We both know that I wasn't in control of my actions.'_**

_'I know this, but I have to explain this in a way that she will be able to understand. Sorry if I say some offensive things Kurama'_

_"Yeah, and he killed it, just like we learned in the academy."_

_"Not exactly, the Kyuubi was just a mass of chakra, and existence equivalent to that of a deity, and a deity can't be killed. They can only be summoned into a living host, but just an animal doesn't have the strength to contain the Kyuubi indefinitely, and so the best choice would be a human being, more specifically a Shinobi. The thing is, an adult can't hold the Kyuubi either. The host has to be able to grow with the beast while adapting to the massive power locked inside it, and so the only answer left to the whole problem is to seal the Kyuubi into a newly born infant, or as close as one could get."_

_"But what does this have to do with the dirty looks everyone-" Naruto watched Hinata's face as she began to out the events together. She looked down as she figured it out eventually beginning to mumble her discovery, "Your birthday is the same day as the day of Yondaime Hokage-sama's death… The same day the Kyuubi was sealed…" Hinata looked up at Naruto's face with tears forming on the edges of her eyes._

_"Yeah, I have the Kyuubi sealed inside of me." Naruto lifted up his shirt while pumping chakra through the seal on his stomach making it visible, though the seal had changed drastically when he took control of Kurama's chakra, it was still present._

_Hinata looked at Naruto's abdomen as the seal flared into existence, and she lightly touched the seal, causing Naruto to laugh out of reflex._

_"Did… Does it ever bother you?"_

_"Not as much as he used to. The Kyuubi and I have come to an… agreement if you will." Naruto slowly placed his hands under Hinata's chin, lifting her face so it was almost level with his. "Now I told you this so that you would understand my position, I don't want you to feel bad for me whatsoever, though it wasn't my choice, I have accepted my position as a Jinchuriki. I just want you to be happy, and if this makes you not want to be with me anymore then I understand if-"_

_He was cut off when Hinata embraced him in a strong hug, burying her head into his chest._

_"I would never leave you, I want to be with you always."_

_"That makes me happy Hina-hime."_

_End Flashback_

Naruto watched as Sakura caught her breath, trying to rest up for her 68th bout with the Hyuuga heiress.

"Well I think this is a good time for a lunch break. Sakura, Hina-hime, go get some food and take a few hour break. Don't forget to come back here though, we aren't finished for the day. I'll stay here and get some of my own training in."

Hinata and Sakura grabbed their things and prepared to leave the field, but before they left Hinata strode over to Naruto and gave him a quick peck on the lips, causing Sakura to get wide-eyed.

"Ok Naruto-kun, we'll be back in a little bit"

"Look forward to it."

When Hinata and Sakura were gone, Naruto began communicating with Kurama.

'Ok, I kept up my end and just used Fuinjutsu and basic Taijutsu. Now I want you to teach me my father's technique, the _Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)_.

**'Fine, a deal is a deal. Frist let me see how much of his technique you are aware of.'**

'Well, from what he told me, he has a tri-pronged kunai that had special seals on them that he was able to Shunshin to.'

**'That is almost correct. True he had the kunai, but he was also able to implant seals onto the body of enemies themselves, so he was able to take them out before they were even aware he was behind them. That is part of what made his so dangerous, the fact that he could decimate entire armies within the span of a few minutes.'**

'That has just got to be the coolest thing I have ever heard! My dad was such a badass!'

**'Yeah yeah, well I guess I should start training you in how to replicate the seal…'**

'We are going to have to make this quick though. If my memory serves me right this is supposed to be the day that a certain team makes themselves known… I better get there a bit early and make sure nothing goes wrong.'

**_In Konoha_**

Hinata and Sakura had gone out to eat together, both famished from their intense training over the last few weeks. Though the conversation started on past missions, it quickly turned into Sakura questioning Hinata on her relationship with Naruto. Sakura was very thorough with her questioning, being sure to get the details on everything from how they first met, though Hinata was sure to change the events around so her father was the one to take care of the Kumo ninja, to their first kiss, which once again Hinata changed to make herself seem less aggressive than she actually was.

After about an hour the two left from their lunch break and began making their way to the front gate to return to their training ground. As they approach the gate they heard the sounds of a fight, and thinking an intruder, they both rushed to the scene prepared for a battle.

When they rounded the corner of the building they saw a group of three Suna ninja, a tall blonde girl with what looked like a huge metal fan on her back and even taller boy with purple face paint and something wrapped up on his back. Their main attention was focused on the shortest of their group, a boy with red hair and large gourd on his back. What really scared them though was that on his forehead was the Kanji for 'love' and the fact that he was radiating bloodlust.

After their initial observation they saw what was causing the commotion, a small boy had bumped into the tallest of the group, who was now holding the boy by his scarf up off the ground.

"LET ME GO PAINT-FACE! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"You're right, you haven't done anything, which is why I'm still holding you up. I want you and your friends to apologize to me for making me spill my drink when you bumped into me."

"NO WAY! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM? THERES NO WAY IN HELL IM GOING TO APOLOGIZE TO SOME WIERDO LIKE YOU!"

"No, and I don't care. And since you decided not to do something so easy, I guess I'll have to teach you some manners!"

The Suna-nin brought up his fist to hit the boy, but before his fist could connect, he saw a flash of pink and purple and next thing he knew he was flying backwards with a lot of pain in his arms and hands. When he looked up he saw a pink-haired girl with her fist up in a fighting stance. He also noticed a purple-haired girl helping the boy he was bullying get up on his feet.

"Ugh… You're going to pay for that! You made me bleed… oh… you are SO going to get it now… I just want you to know that you drew first blood."

The mention of blood made the smallest of their group grab his head. He went down on his knees panting heavily as though he had run a marathon. The girl of their group looked in horror as the boy's panting got worse.

"Kankuro! We have to help Gaara quick!"

"SHIT! NOT NOW!"

Both of the Suna-nins rushed over to the boy, but before they could get there, a flash of yellow stopped them, placing a piece of paper on the boy's forehead with the Kanji for seal on it. As soon as the paper was on the boy's head, he immediately collapsed to the ground unconscious. After the boy was on the ground, Naruto stood up to face the other two of the group.

"That should keep him in check for a few hours. Take him and go to your assigned apartments for the exam. I will be over later to help Gaara with his seal."

Kankuro looked at his younger brother, then back to Naruto, but was silent. It was his sister that broke the silence.

"Why should we trust you? And why do you know about his seal?"

"I assure you, I mean Gaara no harm, and the fact that I managed to render him unconscious without the… _other_ side of him coming out means that I have some degree of expertise. So it seems to me that you don't have much of a choice, but like I said before, I mean Gaara no harm."

Temari looked at Gaara, then to Kankuro, who gave her a quick nod. They then silently took their little brother and headed off towards their quarters. Hinata, Sakura, and Konohamaru were still watching the Suna-nins suspiciously and when they finally left, they approached Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, do you know those people?"

"I guess you could say that I met them a long time ago, and we were all good friends."

"But they acted like they had no idea who you were…"

Naruto put his hands behind his head and looked as innocent as possible. "HAHAHAHA, I guess they forgot about me, it was a really long time ago!"

Sakura was watching the whole scene trying to make sense of what had transpired in the last few minutes. "How can you be so smooth one second, convincing those three Suna-nins to trust you within a few seconds, and the next you look like you just got caught up in one of your pranks!"

Naruto secretly loved playing the genius one second, only to turn into the fool the next. "I don't know what to tell you, anyway, I think you guys are late for your training! You guys go ahead and get started, I have some business I have to take care of. Oh, and Sakura, you can take off your weights this time, that ought to give Hina-hime a bit more trouble this time!"

The girls paled at the thought of having to go through another few hours of sparring especially Hinata as she began to realize the fights wouldn't be as one sided as they had been that morning, but were silent as they made their way back to the training field while Konohamaru went to catch up with his friends. Naruto turned to follow the Suna-nin back to their apartment, intent on saving Gaara from the tailed beast inside of him before any more blood rested on his conscious.

**_At the Sunagakure Residence_**

Temari and Kankuro set Gaara on the couch in the living room of the apartment they were given for the duration of the Chunnin exam, slightly more luxurious due to the fact they were the children of the Kazekage.

"Temari, how long has it been since we have seen Gaara sleep?"

"I've never seen him sleep… I remember father telling us that if he ever fell asleep the… thing… inside of him would come out and kill everyone"

"That is my point. How the hell is he unconscious right now without it coming out right now? I can only think that it has something to do with that seal that blonde kid put on him. For whatever reason he knows about Gaara's position as a host, and I think that he genuinely wants to help Gaara."

"Kankuro, we can't trust anyone from this village! Especially not after the mission we were assigned before we came here! It could be a trap, they could know and might try to get to Gaara to stop him from-"

"Stop him from what?"

Both Temari and Kankuro spun around ready to attack the intruder. To their surprise they found Naruto in the window, looking very calm.

"Don't worry, I know about Gaara's unique predicament as a Jinchuriki. I want to help him, just as much as you two want to help him, though the only difference is that I know how. And as to your 'mission', well it's up to you three whether or not you will go through with it after today."

The two still held their guard up for several more minutes, until Temari finally broke first.

"Please… just help Gaara. It isn't his fault, he tries his best to keep the Ichibi under control, but sometimes he can't stop it from taking control of his emotions…" She managed to stay somewhat reserved, though it was obvious that there were tears forming in her eyes.

"Ok, I will help him, though I will need him awake to begin."

Temari nodded, while Kankuro still had his guard up, ready to take Naruto down if he tried anything suspicious. Naruto walked over to Gaara, removing the seal from his head while dispelling the effects. Gaara's eyes immediately shot open, and needless to say he was very confused as to what was happening. He looked around the room slowly, eyeing each of his siblings before resting his eyes on Naruto. Gaara felt something from Naruto. He didn't look at Gaara like everyone else did, he had eyes that showed that he knew exactly what Gaara had gone through, all the pain and suffering from being a Jinchuriki.

"I… I had a dream. I haven't had a dream since… as long as I can remember. It was the best feeling I have ever felt. I don't know how you managed to suppress Shukaku but I thank you."

"Well, how would you like to be able to dream more often? In fact, I think I can make it so that you will be able to sleep normally like everyone else."

Gaara's eyes widened in disbelief. "B-B-But, how!"

"I know a little bit about seals, and I am confident that I am able to change your situation a bit. Shukaku was sealed inside of you hastily and therefore barriers weren't set up to keep the full power of Shukaku in check, and so he has been able to overpower your sub-consciousness to the extent of being able to control some of your violent urges. But with the _Hakke no Fūin Shiki_ you will not only be free of his influence, but you should be able to draw on his power at will, though the more power you take, the more he gains a grasp over your consciousness."

The three were dumbfounded at what Naruto was saying. According to him, he could fix every problem Gaara had, and allow him a life of freedom from the bloodthirsty beast contained with him. Though Kankuro wasn't as quick to believe everything Naruto had said.

"And how can we trust you. Let's say everything you said IS true, why would you want to even help us. We aren't even from the same village. What is in it for you?"

"Nothing. I simply want to change the fate of a fellow Jinchuriki."

That really hit home. Kankuro and Temari looked back and forth between Gaara and Naruto. They didn't know if the person standing in front of them was telling the truth, but their brother knew for sure it was a legitimate claim.

"Kankuro, Temari, I believe him. I know that he has known the same kind of pain I have gone through, though we have walked different paths. I accept your proposal…"

"Oh wow, I can't believe I haven't told you my name! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha!"

"Naruto-san… please, do whatever you have to do."

"Ok, I will create a seal that will hold Shukaku and allow you to draw on his power when you are in a pinch, much like mine does. I warn you though, this will be painful."

"That's ok, I'm not afraid of pain."

With a nod Naruto began gathering chakra in his hands as he instructed Gaara to lie down on his back with his shirt off. Temari and Kankuro watched as Naruto placed his hands over Gaara's stomach, and the _Hakke no Fūin Shiki_ began shimmering into existence.

"This is only the seal itself, I will now try and put Shukaku into the seal, though I doubt he will go peacefully. Gaara, we are about to fight against Shukaku, you have to force him into the cage while I seal it closed. After he is behind the cage, it will be over and you will be free."

Naruto concentrated as he began to delve into Gaara's sub-consciousness, ready to fight Shukaku. When he opened his eyes, he saw a vast desert that seemed to stretch on for miles in every direction.

'Great, how am I supposed to help now?'

**'Sometimes I really worry about you brat… Just focus on Shukaku's chakra and Shunshin to it. It shouldn't be hard, it's not like there are that many chakra signatures that large.'**

'Hn'

Naruto searched out in every direction till he found what he was looking for. After he performed a few seals he flew miles across the desert and found himself in a large cave. At the far end of the cave he saw the prison he had set up, though the gates were still wide open. When he looked around he saw Gaara, bloody and out of breath with a small shield of sand in front of him. Across from him he found Shukaku laughing manically.

"Who would have thought that you would be stupid to come down here alone! HAHAHAHAHA! I can finally get out of here! I think I'll start off by killing your damn siblings! HAHAHAHAH!"

Naruto Shunshined behind Shukaku, grabbing his tail and yelling, "Who said Gaara was alone?" Naruto threw Shukaku by his tail, smashing him into the far side of the cave. This didn't faze Shukaku too much, and he soon got back up on his feet. He looked around the room, then at the person he had been fighting earlier, who had now collapsed and was being tended to by some of Naruto's Kage Bunshins.

"Who the hell are you? And what kind of idiot wears orange around his eyes? You look like one of those damn Trannys! HAHAHAHAHA"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuriki of Kurama, also known as the Kyuubi, and future Hokage of Konohagakure."

The mention of the Kyuubi shut Shukaku up very quickly.

"K-K-Kurama? You're lying… you have to be… he's dead… he can't be here. HE CAN'T!"

Shukaku began launching massive spheres of compressed air at Naruto, trying to kill him as quickly as possible. It took all of Naruto's concentration, even in Sennin Mode (Sage Mode) to dodge all the attacks

'Kurama, what the hell is going on?'

**'Let's just say that I was a downright bastard when I was younger, especially to Shu-Shu… I would often fight him for weeks on end, though it was more of me bringing him to the brink of death more than just a simple fight. I guess he hasn't gotten over it yet.'**

'I think I know why he is so spiteful now. I don't see a way for Gaara to reach a relationship with Shukaku like we have.'

Naruto was still dodging the air bubbles when Shukaku's tail whipped around the room, throwing Naruto into the other side of the wall. Naruto stood back up as if nothing happened. 'It seems like my Sennin Mode has gotten stronger, I hardly even felt that. I can't drag this on much longer, the longer this takes the more potential damage to Gaara's mind.'

Naruto dropped Sennin Mode and began harnessing Kurama's chakra. Quickly he was shrouded in a cloak of yellow flames, with an appearance like that of the Rikudo Sennin.

"So it IS true! You do have that bastard in you! BRING HIM OUT HERE! ILL KILL HIM! ILL HUMILIATE HIM LIKE HE HUMILIATED ME! ILL MAKE HIM FEEL SUFFERING!"

"Sorry Shukaku, but I can't let you take control of Gaara's psyche anymore, just leave him in peace."

Suddenly Naruto created several _Rasenshurikens_ with several of his chakra arms. A moment later and he was behind Shukaku once again. Naruto grabbed his tail and this time threw him in the direction of the cage. Like the first time Shukaku got back up as if he didn't feel it.

"You are going to have to try a whole hell of a lot harder than that if you want to beat me!"

"That was my plan."

Shukaku looked down at his feet in disbelief, it was like the kid was able to teleport around the room. Before he could say anything though he was hit with the force of three _Rasenshurikens_, enough to even bring a Biju to their knees. Naruto jumped backwards as the blast radius began to expand. He quickly began flashing hand seals, and when he passed the outside of the gate he slammed is palms to the ground "_Hakke no Fūin Shiki_!"

Shukaku began recovering from the attack, though visibly shaken.

"D-Damn you… Don't think this is over! I'll find a way out of here… mark my words, I WILL!"

As Naruto took Gaara's unconscious form and started ending the sealing process he shot back one last retort, "Heh better Biju than you have tried…"

**'Watch it brat…'**

Both Naruto and Gaara shot up at the same time, gasping for air. Temari and Kankuro looked first at each other, then walked over to Gaara, helping him sit up on the couch. Temari couldn't contain her inquisitive nature any longer.

"So… did it… you know… work?"

Naruto looked at her then at Gaara, "Well Gaara, how do you feel?"

"I feel… I feel great, better than I have in a long time… It's so, quiet. WAIT. IT'S QUIET… I-I-I can't h-hear him a-a-anymore…"

Gaara could barely make out the words as tears began streaming down his face. Temari looked at Naruto, who gave her a quick nod, and she too broke down into tears while embracing her brother. Naruto looked over to Kankuro, who gave him a warm smile before he too joined in the embrace.

After a few minutes, Gaara ended the embrace, and while standing up walked over to Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Today you have given me the best gift one could possibly give: freedom. I am eternally grateful, and if you should ever find yourself in need of assistance, not only will myself and my siblings be there to provide support, but I will do my best to make sure all of Sunagakure will welcome you with open arms."

At the mention of Sunagakure, Temari and Kankuro began looking at the ground.

"Thank you Gaara. Now, I think we all need to talk."

**_Several Hours Later at Training Field 29_**

Naruto approached the training field feeling satisfied.

'I'm glad I was able to help Gaara sooner this time around, though I did it a bit differently. Honestly, I thought a lot over the years on how I would save him from the darkness, and I think this was truly the best way.'

**'True, over time he will learn to use Shukaku's power for himself without becoming absorbed in it. Once again, you make me proud Naruto.'**

'Geeze, don't get all sentimental on me Kurama.'

Naruto soon arrived to the training field to a rare sight, and he was sure to hide in the trees and mask his presence. He saw Hinata and Sakura sparring fiercely. It was like they were both in a battle to decide of life and death, though Naruto could see faint smiles on both their faces. Overall Sakura looked in worse shape with several chakra burn marks on her arms and legs, on top of being covered in dirt and sweat. Hinata was also covered in dirt and a mixture of scrapes and bruises, obviously some of Sakura's monstrous punches had connected.

Naruto made his presence known after Hinata landed a blow to Sakura that caused her to fall to one knee, the yielding position of a spar. As soon as the spar was finished both girls collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, panting and out of breath. He entered the clearing clapping his hands in praise, causing both girls to look up at him.

"That was amazing guys! Sakura, you must have pushed Hina-hime really far to get her so tired! I guess those weights really do the trick when it comes to speed."

Sakura grunted in response, too tired to give any kind of coherent response.

"Well, I guess I should give you guys some soldier pills so you can make it back to Konoha. It's starting to get late, so I think we all should head back. From the looks of it you guys have really been going at it, so I guess we can call it a day for now."

After taking the pills both girls prepared to leave, but as they headed out, they turned back, waiting for Naruto to come with them.

"Naruto-kun? Aren't you coming back with us?"

"No, I haven't gotten a chance to train myself today, so I think I'm going to stay out here for a bit and do some one-on-one practice with some Kage Bunshins. I will be by the Hyuuga compound later tonight though, so you can head on back and rest."

Hinata nodded and with Sakura, began heading back to the village.

'Good, now it's time for my training. Kurama, I need you to show me how to use less chakra when I do multiple elemental combinations.'

**'Well, show me which ones you are able to do so far, and I will watch your chakra reserves to figure out the best way to perform each jutsu.'**

'Right'

Naruto concentrated his chakra, and burst forward into the clearing imagining a group of enemies charging towards him. "_Futton: Futtō jōki no Jutsu (Boil Release: Boiling Vapor Technique)_". A cloud of steam burst forth from Naruto's lungs. Whatever the steam made contact with, whether it was trees or grass, it instantly began to crackle and explode as the water inside began evaporating from inside.

'Whomever was on the receiving end of the Kekki Genkai must have been in a lot of pain…'

**'Keep going brat, you aren't even close to being finished yet.'**

Deciding to clear the steam, Naruto gathered chakra in his palms. "_Ranton: Reizā Sākasu no Jutsu (Storm Release: Laser Circus Technique)_". Over a dozen beams of crackling lightning exploded from Naruto's palms, exploding on contact, decimating trees and boulders alike. Massive craters now riddled the training ground, looking as if a battle between two villages had taken place in the area.

**'So far so good, it looks like ****_Suiton, _****and****_ Futon _****seem to be your strong suits, but ****_Raiton_**** uses a bit more chakra than the others.'**

'Guess it's time to try _Doton _and _Katon_.'

Naruto jumped up into the air, gathering chakra in his lungs again. "_Yoton: Yōgan-ryū no Jutsu (Lava Release: Lava Stream Technique)_" The field was now covered in a layer of lava about half a foot thick, changing the luscious green landscape into a molten furnace.

**'Yeah, it seems like ****_Doton and katon_****seems to be your weakest elements brat, and so uses the most chakra. Use one last jutsu to cool all that lava before you fall into it and burn to death'**

Naruto gave a mental nod, and took a deep breath, preparing to use his last jutsu of the day. "_Hyoton: Burizādoreijingu no Jutsu (Ice Release: Raging Blizzard Technique)_". The air Naruto expelled a massive amount of freezing air, instantaneously hardening the lava on the ground. The jutsu lasted around half a minute, enough time to make Naruto panting for breath when he landed on the new ground he created.

**'Good work Naruto, now from what I saw, you were able to keep relative good control of your chakra while… Naruto… did you place seals around the training ground to keep everyone else out?'**

Naruto paled when he figured out what Kurama was implying, and when he turned around he saw Kakashi standing in the clearing, with his uncovered eye almost popping out of his head.

"H-H-How!?" Kakashi stammered while bringing up his pointer finger at Naruto. "Y-You just used four advanced nature Kekki Genkais! That can't be possible, it just can't!"

"Calm down Kakashi-sensei… I can… uh, explain?"

_Flashback Earlier that Morning_

_Kakashi was on his way out of the village gates going to meet Sasuke for his private lessons on using his new Sharingan to its fullest potential. When he turned the corner to the village entrance, he noticed a small fight between Gaara's group and Sakura with Hinata standing behind her._

_'Hmmmm, I wonder if I should intervene… I guess I will let this play out just a bit more before I-'_

_He lost his train of thought when the smallest of the group clutched his head and began screaming a blood-curling scream. Kakashi lifted up his headband and was about to jump forward and investigate, but he stopped himself when Naruto appeared and placed a seal on the young red-head. Though Kakashi was too far away to hear the conversation, he was able to read their lips with his Sharingan._

_'Well, I think Sasuke would be fine for the day by himself, I think I should follow Naruto and figure out just what is going on. How does he intend to "help" these Suna-nin…'_

_Kakashi followed Naruto to the Suna-team's apartment, and was more than shocked when he heard Naruto begin talking about creating a seal for the Shukaku while simultaneously revealing the S-class secret that he was also a Jinchuriki._

_'Naruto! What the hell are you doing!? You can't just go around and tell everyone you meet you have the Kyuubi inside yourself! Wait… How does he know himself?'_

_Kakashi continued to watch as_

"You had better, and it needs to be damn good or I will personally go the Hokage with what I just saw."

"Well, actually I was meaning to talk to him too… so I guess that would be easier than having to explain this twice."

The two went in silence to the Hokage tower. Immediately upon arrival Kakashi demanded an audience with the Hokage, lifting up his headband to show he was serious. This made the ANBU guards to sweat behind their masks, they knew better than to get in Kakashi's way when his Sharingan was out. When they walked into Hiruzen's office, the Hokage gave them grave looks, though he didn't know what the meeting was about, he knew it would be very serious.

"Kakashi, Naruto. What is this all about, I was in a very important meeting with the council about-"

"Forgive me Hokage-sama, but there is something that Naruto needs to tell us."

"Naruto what is it?"

"One second Ojiisan, I have to put seals around the room. No one can hear what I am about to say."

Naruto went to each side of the room and placed seals on each wall, the door, and all the windows. When they were all in place Naruto channeled chakra into them, and soon the room was sealed against all kinds of intrusion, from someone trying to eavesdrop to a Byakugan user trying to look in.

Once the room was sealed Naruto began recalling the events of his past. He opened with convincing the two men that he had formed a rip in time with Kurama's help and had managed to come back to when he was a baby to stop the destruction of the world. After they were thoroughly convinced, Naruto began recounting the events from their point in time onward. He talked about the Chunnin exams, the invasion of Konoha by the Sound and Sand, the election of Tsunade as the Godaime Hokage, the desertion of Sasuke, his encounter with Akatsuki, his training with Jiraya, the Akatsuki's hunt for Jinchuriki, Pain's destruction of Konoha, and finally ending with the 4th Shinobi war. Naruto was very careful, however, to avoid the mention of Obito, as he knew Kakashi wouldn't take that news particularly well.

Their reaction was just about as Naruto predicted, they were in total disbelief, partly from how Naruto had managed to tame the Kyuubi and partly from the fact that the world would in a few years down the road. They couldn't help but believe Naruto though, since he was able to so accurately tell each event in vivid detail. After Naruto was finished telling the events that had happened, it was generally silent until Hiruzen spoke up.

"So. You came back to prevent the completion of the Eternal Tsukuyomi by this leader of Akatsuki. Who is it that is the leader. Who could have the strength to control all of the Biju at once?"

"It's Madara Uchiha… He survived his encounter with the Shodai Hokage and is now hiding away somewhere, building up the Akatsuki in preparation for their Biju hunt. He managed to steal some of Hashirama's cells and is using them to elongate his life." 'It isn't a total lie; Obito is in fact acting out Madara's will, so for now it's fine for them to be one in the same.'

"Madara… to think he is alive after all this time…" Kakashi was still in disbelief.

"I want to bring our attention to this supposed invasion of Konoha by the Sound and Suna and my supposed death. How are we able to trust you on this information?"

Naruto began telling of his encounter with Gaara, and the talk they had after Naruto managed to seal Shukaku about the invasion. This time Kakashi was able to verify Naruto's information. Naruto went into detail about his sealing of Shukaku, which surprised the two men in the room that a 13 year old was able to handle a Biju with ease. The Hokage soon collected himself enough to again speak.

"So Orochimaru decides to make his move during the finals of the Chunnin exams… I feel for the Kazekage too, his death is unfortunate. We should, however, be able to use this treachery against Orochimaru, and when the Suna nin's find out they won't be willing to participate in this supposed invasion."

"Right, this is part of the reason I made myself known to Gaara earlier. I also informed them of the Kazekage's death, and they took it surprisingly well, though I think they never really had any special attachments to their father. They assured me that they would inform all of the Suna-nins of Orochimaru's betrayal, and so when the time comes to attack they will begin attacking their unsuspecting allies."

"Thank you Naruto, it's good to know that Konoha has more than one person protecting it from the shadows. Though, I wonder why you decided to come forward to me now."

"Well, I wouldn't have told you about my situation, but Kakashi stumbled upon me training."

Hiruzen looked questioningly at Kakashi, wondering what Naruto was trying to imply. Kakashi responded to the questioning looks as well as he could.

"Well, I personally witnessed Naruto performing elemental jutsu… The thing is, they were from four different Kekki Genkais…"

The Hokage's eyes widened and his pipe fell out of his mouth. He was staring at Naruto for the better part of five minutes before he collected his thoughts enough to speak.

"N-Naruto, would you c-care to explain HOW you were able to do this… I am also curious as to which ones you used."

"Well, to answer your second question, I used _Futton, Ranton, Yoton, _and _Hyoton_. I think I should let Kurama explain how I was able to do these, I never really had a knack to the technical sides of jutsu anyways."

The two men were still in shock from hearing that the Genin in front of them was capable of wielding some of the most lethal Kekki Genkai in existence, so they simply nodded at Naruto's last statement. The words didn't register until Naruto's eyes turned red and his pupils became slits.

**"Well, well, well. It is good to see you again Sandaime. Still alive and kicking I see."**

"Kyuubi… I don't enjoy meeting on such terms again after all these years…"

**"Don't be rude. My name is Kurama and you will address me as such. I am not the same mindless beast that attacked Konoha 13 years ago."**

Hiruzen was taken aback by Kurama's request, but he soon realized that in order to get the information he wanted he would have to honor it. "Very well, I apologize Kurama-san."

**"That's better. Now to get on with the explanation. Well, you both know that each person has only one or two ****_affinities_**** towards a certain element. Such as this brat has an affinity towards ****_Futton_****, while you both have different affinities to different elements. That being the case, how is it that either of you are able to use jutsu of different elements besides those of your affinities?"**

Kakashi was the first to speak. "Well, that is because though our affinities are different, we are able to learn different elemental jutsu to a minimal degree, though the jutsu itself would be weaker and use much more chakra than the elemental jutsu that matched out affinities."

**"Correct. Now tell me, what would be the case if a certain individual was able to wield a chakra pool several times that of the strongest Kage, and he had a teacher that had been alive long enough to know the ins and outs of each element?"**

"You can't mean…"

**"Yes, from the age of four Naruto has been undergoing intense training in each and every element, learning how to manipulate each one and the advanced jutsu in each element. By the time he entered the Academy, he would easily be able to defeat everyone in this village, even you Sandaime."**

"Dear Kami… but that still doesn't explain how he can use the Kekki Genkai I saw him use!"

**"Like I said before Kakashi, I know the ins and outs of each element. What is lava exactly? It is simply a combination of rock and fire. Storms? Those are just a mixture of violent winds and water with a certain amount of electrical charge to disrupt the atmosphere around the water droplets. This kind of logic is true for each 'Kekki Genkai' that is based solely on the manipulation of elements."**

"So all Naruto was really doing was combining the elements in a specific way?"

**"Exactly. Under any other circumstance, this would be impossible as anyone else wouldn't have nearly enough chakra to perform the necessary combinations. So the fact that Naruto is able to do this leads me to believe that all those Kekki Genkai's are is the special trait to have more than one affinity, and having an innate ability to combine those specific elements. It just so happened that those traits managed to stay in the same family long enough to be associated to that Kekki Genkai. Of course this means that Naruto can't replicate anything that has to do with physical alterations to the body, such as the Sharingan or Byakugan, he is limited to the manipulation of elements, though that in itself is good enough. I have several other theories about jutsu in general, but I won't say them for now. Anyway, I'm finished here. Naruto can explain anything else you want to know."**

Hiruzen and Kakashi were studying Naruto as his eyes returned to their normal blue.

"So, is there anything else that you guys want to know? I am pretty tired from using so much chakra today, and I only have a few more days to prepare for the Chunnin exams. I also promised Hina-chan that I would meet up with her tonight."

*Sigh* "Yes Naruto, you may go. You have given Kakashi and myself much to think about. I will hold an emergency meeting with the council to prepare for the invasion. I will also secretly meet with this Gaara to discuss Suna's new role in the operation."

"Thanks Ojiisan!" Naruto bowed and turned to his Jounin leader. "See ya Kakashi… Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I thought that you were training Sasuke today?"

"OH CRAP! Sarutobi-sama, I have to leave!"

Naruto and Hiruzen both chuckled at Kakashi as he quickly leapt out the window as fast as his feet would carry him. Naruto was soon after him, ready to take a shower and meet Hinata.

The next few days progressed quickly, with Naruto training Hinata and Sakura, giving them pointers on their Taijutsu styles while increasing the weights Sakura was wearing, much to her dismay. After they left Naruto would then practice using his Kekki Genkai class Ninjutsu, trying to use less and less chakra with each one performed, though he was progressing at a snail's pace.

Soon enough, he was with Sakura and Sasuke standing in front of the building where they would be taking part in the written portion of the Chunnin exams.

"Well guys, looks like this is it. Sasuke-teme, if you are scared we can still back out now…"

"Shut it dobe, I'm going in there with or without you, and I'm not going to leave until I am one step closer to being a Chunnin."

"Hahahaha! I wouldn't have it any other way!"

**AN: Well hope everyone liked it. Once again please review and tell me what you think.**

**Also, i got several messages with some criticism included, and I would like to thank those that have taken the time to tell me how to make my writing better and more enjoyable, even if it is something as small as a name mistake. I seriously want to hear everyone's opinion, so please dont hesitate to send me your thoughts!**

**Thanks!**


	7. Chunnin Exam Preliminaries

**AN: The newest and longest chapter so far. The chapters will start being a little slower with their release, but i cant really find a whole lot of spare time to write... the curse of schoolwork. So savor this chapter as long as possible.**

**Dislcaimer: I own nothing you are about to read. So dont accuse me of doing so.**

**_Chapter 7_**

Naruto and his team walked into the building, and headed to the room that they were supposed to take the first part of the Chunnin Exam. After reaching the second floor, they ran into a group of Chunnin who were having an argument with a group of Genin over not letting them enter the room. Sasuke was about to confront them about dispelling the obvious Genjutsu until Naruto stopped him.

"Wait, let them keep it up. This will weed out some of the Genin teams who really shouldn't be here. It'll be for their own good."

"Hn."

They made their way past the second floor and up to the third to where Lee was waiting for Naruto and his team, intent on challenging Sasuke to a fight before the first portion of the exam started. When Naruto caught sight of the green-spandex clad ninja, he ran up to him.

"Hey there Lee! What are you doin here? I thought for sure you would already be in the room with the others."

"Unfortunately, the rest of my team isn't here, and so I have been made to wait outside until they show up." Lee eyed Sasuke and Sasuke returned his look with a fierce scowl. "But I would like to challenge him to a friendly spar."

Naruto knew that Lee was adamant about his spar with Sasuke, it was his chance to show that his hard work would pay off against those who were born with talent. Naruto also knew that this would be pivotal in showing Sasuke just how much he could stand to improve his skills in Taijutsu.

"Move it dobe, if this weirdo wants a fight, I'll give him one."

*Sigh* "Alright teme, just don't come crying to me when you get your ass handed to you."

"Heh, in your dreams."

Unfortunately for Sasuke, the spar went the exact same way as it had happened in the past, and he was soundly defeated by Lee, who had been holding back quite a bit. Again, Gai had shown up on his turtle before Lee was able to execute his devastating _Konoha Senpu_ attack. Sasuke made his way back to the team, glaring at the ground in humiliation while trying to ignore Naruto's smirk.

"Well, I must say that I just had one heck of a good dream."

"Shut it…"

After their meeting with Lee, the three finally made it to their classroom. After entering the room, Naruto saw Gaara and his team, so he quickly went over to greet his newest friend. As he approached, he noticed Gaara looked a lot more calm, and the bags under his eyes were nearly gone. Gaara was the first one to see Naruto approach, though he looked a little mechanical, almost if he wasn't the one moving.

"Hey guys! How's it going?"

"Hello Naruto-san its going well."

Temari snorted at his response and shot a look at Kankuro. "Well? He haven't been able to do anything the last few days cause Gaara here decided to sleep for three and a half days straight! It has been boring as hell being cooped up in the dam apartment!"

"Well, I can only imagine how tired Gaara has been, I'm surprised he was able to get up and come here at all."

This time it was Kankuro who snorted. "He didn't."

"What?"

"He isn't awake. I've been moving him with my chakra strings. He has been great to practice on! I've even managed to figure out how to use my chakra to vibrate his vocal chords and make him talk. Pretty sweet huh?"

"Yeah… I guess so… Well, I better get back to my team. See you Temari and Kankuro… and Gaara I guess. Tell him I said hi when he gets up."

"That's IF he gets up…"

"Right."

Naruto walked around the room, talking to the people he knew, he chatted with Team 10 and a few other various Genin whom Naruto had befriended from his childhood. He soon saw Haku make his way into the building, eliciting a few sighs from some of the female Genin in the room as they were captivated by his presence.

"Hey Haku! How've you been? I heard that they started training you to be a medical-nin because of your near-perfect chakra control."

"Hello Naruto-san, yes, you are correct. I have been taught the basics of medical ninjutsu, but I still have a long way to go. Several of my senseis have told me that they haven't seen a level of chakra control in a ninja since the Sannin Tsunade, and they assure me that my skills will improve rapidly if I apply myself."

"Well that's great news! I'm glad that things are going great for you. So have you been given any trouble from any of the civilians or shinobi? I know they aren't the most accepting of foreign shinobi, and if you have any trouble just come get me."

"Thank you Naruto-san for your thoughts, and I have had some… altercations… with some of Konoha's populace, but it isn't for the reason you have stated. The female shinobi seem to be infatuated with my being, though I don't understand why, as I have done nothing to encourage such advances."

"HAHAHAHA, those are just girls being girls, that kind of stuff happens. Don't worry too much about it, they will go away, eventually. Anyway, I gotta get going, I wanna talk to Hina-chan before the exam starts."

"Who?"

Naruto face palmed. "Oh, wow, I can't believe I haven't introduced you to Hina-chan. She is someone who is very close to me, someone that I would lay my life down to protect." He decided to put her relationship to Naruto in terms Haku could understand.

"I see, well I look forward to meeting this person. Good luck Naruto-san."

"You too Haku!"

When he approached Team 8, Kiba made it a point to get in between Naruto and his female teammate.

'Great… there goes my good mood… I can't act like a jerk in front of Hina-chan, I will have to be the bigger person here I guess.'

Kiba glared at Naruto not intending to give him the chance to talk to Hinata and doing his best to stir up as much contempt in his voice as he could.

"What are you doing here loser?"

"Well, I am trying to talk to Hina-hime, now if you don't mind I would like to talk to her before the test begins."

Kiba snorted at his response. "I didn't mean what are you doing over here. I mean what are you doing in this test. This is only for people with a chance of becoming Chunnin! Sasuke is the only one of your team who has a shot in hell of passing this thing! Losers like you should just get out before you get hurt."

"Kiba, I'm not sure why you despise me so…" Naruto leaned over and looked at Hinata. "Well, I guess I do, but just because there is someone you can't have doesn't mean you have to have so much hatred towards me." Naruto pushed pass Kiba and addressed Hinata directly. "Sorry Hina-chan, I guess I'm not welcome here. I should get back to my team before he creates a scene."

"Ok Naruto-kun, I will see you in a bit! Good luck!"

Naruto leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, and he was almost happy when he turned around and saw Kiba go red with rage. "Thanks Hina-hime, good luck to you too. I know you will do well, just have confidence!"

Naruto walked away, and was heading back to his team, but was stopped when he heard Kiba's last comment.

"Neji was right… she IS a damn fox-whore…"

Naruto froze in his place. Sure, people could call him any name they could think up, he was used to that all his life. He had grown up bearing the hatred of the villagers, and had to go through it again as he grew up a second time. All in all, he could take it. But when someone came at a person he cared about, especially if that person was as close to him as Hinata was, he couldn't let that slide.

Naruto released enough killing intent to freeze everyone in the room. Kiba was in a daze, he had never been as scared in his life as he was that minute. He had never felt the kind of killing intent that the supposed "loser" of his class had been able to direct at him. All eyes were turned to Naruto still radiating killing intent, their breaths trapped in their throats, even those who had been Gennin for years were afraid of the person standing in front of them. Those Genin who hadn't been shinobi for very long were cold sweating, afraid for their lives and doing their best to keep their pants dry.

"Kiba. For your sake I hope we are not paired against each other if there is a fighting portion to this test. If there is I will come at you with everything I have. I will drag your face through the mud, and when I am through with you I will drag you back to Hinata to apologize for the comment you have just made."

Naruto walked over to his team and took his seat while he began to smother his killing intent. Everyone in the room was still watching him making sure to avoid his gaze as much as possible. Just when everyone had settled down, Neji, Ten-Ten, and Lee made their way into the room, only to find everyone silent and still staring at Naruto with a certain amount of fear in their eyes. Lee, always one to hate silences, decided to question Sakura on the state of the room.

"Sakura-chan. Why is everyone so quite in here, it's as if they saw a ghost or something?"

Sakura didn't have time to answer his question as Kabuto, in his Konoha disguise, approached and answered for her.

"Blondie over there decided to show off and scare everyone with some theatrics. If I were on his team, I would be pretty upset cause now everyone will be gunning for him, trying to see if he can back up his killing intent he released not too long ago."

Sakura turned to face the silver-haired boy.

"And who are you four-eyes? I don't seem to recall seeing you around, even though you are a Konoha-non."

"My name is Kabuto, and I am mostly in the hospitals learning medical ninjutsu, which is why you don't see me around much."

This time it was Neji who spoke. "So, you are a medic-nin? That means you have to have perfect chakra control. Do you have any other talents?"

Kabuto smiled at Neji's request. "Yes, I happen to have information cards on each participant here, and if you ask nicely I might just let you see a few."

Neji's eyes narrowed, obviously not wanting to bring himself to show humility, but that didn't mean Lee wasn't about to ask.

"Please, Kabuto-san, may we see information on Uchiha Sasuke, Sabaku no Gaara, and Uzumaki Naruto?"

Sasuke kept his ears open, wondering what information Kabuto would have on him.

"Hmpf, it's good to see that at least someone on your team has some manners. Anyway, first up is Uchiha Sasuke: Age 13, Male. Sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan, famous for the Dojutsu Sharingan and possessing the _Katon_ elemental affinity. Taijutsu capabilities, mid-level Chunnin. Ninjutsu capabilities, high-level Chunnin. Genjutsu capabilities, low-level Chunnin. Specific Jutsu unknown."

Sasuke wore a satisfied smirk on his face. 'Well, that all sounds about right. I am above these pathetic excuses for Shinobi.'

"Next up is Sabaku no Gaara: Age 14, Male. Youngest child of the Yondaime Kazekage. Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu capabilities are all unknown."

'Well, that was pretty anti-climactic.' Was the thought everyone had when they heard the lack of information Kabuto had.

"Last up is Uzumaki Naruto… Hmmm, well there doesn't seem to be anything here on him."

Neji wore a dissatisfied frown. "I thought you said you had information on each participant here? You don't even have any information on him at all besides his name."

"Well, usually their records are open for other people to see. In Naruto's case, this means that someone high up is making sure that his files aren't made known."

Everyone turned to look at the blonde in their midst, wondering who would pull those kinds of strings and why.

'Well, if they knew that I could fight a Kage right now I don't think they would be very happy.'

**'Few are when they find out just how weak they really are.'**

'Good point.'

Naruto was interrupted when a group of Oto-nin entered the room. When one of them saw Naruto and his group, he charged at Kabuto, swinging a punch towards his face. Kabuto was able to easily dodge, but he was quickly forced on his knees when his head started aching and he vomited on the floor. Naruto chuckled, glad that this part hadn't changed.

'For what he did to my world, he deserves so much worse.'

**'Don't worry Naruto, you'll be able to stop him much sooner. His ****_Edo-Tensei_**** is a large part of the reason we came back.'**

'I know, but I still can't believe that he can just nonchalantly be walk in here and be responsible for so many deaths. I can't wait to see his face when he sees me when the invasion starts.'

**'Me either. Now you should get back to it, looks like the test is about to start.'**

A surge of chakra was felt throughout the room, and Ibiki appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"HEY! You Oto-nins, if I catch you engaging other Genin teams outside of the allotted battle times, I will fail you on the spot. Am I clear?" There was silence in the room, no one dared to anger the stone-faced man. "Good, now get your asses into your seats, I don't want to be here any longer than I have to. Okay listen up, because I'm only going to say this once. The first stage of the Chunnin Exam is a written test composed of ten questions that you have one hour to complete. You'll find nine of them on the test that will be passed out by my Chunnin assistants, the tenth will be given to you when there is only fifteen minutes left. Your team's scores will be averaged to see if you pass, and if anybody on your team gets a zero you all fail. The only thing left to cover is cheating, and if you look around the room, you will see Konoha Chunnin that I have personally handpicked. They all have sharp eyes, and will be watching you all very carefully. If you're caught cheating, you lose two points, and if you're caught five times it means you've lost all ten of your points and fail along with the rest of your team." As he was speaking a few of the Chunnin assistants were distributing tests throughout the room. Ibiki waited for them to finish, "You have one hour to complete the test, beginning now!"

Naruto listened in amusement as he saw many of the Genin around the room go visible pale, obviously intimidated. When he got his test he was pleased that this time around he was able to answer the questions, all of them. Naruto groaned when he realized that he would have to tell Kurama that he was thankful for his tutelage early on in his childhood.

'Ah crap… if I tell Kurama that I'm happy he made me study my ass off, he would never let me live it down… Whatever, let's just finish this'

Every few minutes, the Chunnin around the room would hurl a kunai at the desk of one of the Genin in the room, signaling their failing of the test, and three people would soon leave the room. A half hour later Naruto finished his Ninth question, confident in his answers. He took a look around and noticed about half the room was empty now. He saw Sasuke using his Sharingan to get answers from the Genin around him, and he saw Sakura furiously filling out her test as well. After another 15 minutes passed, Ibiki once again addressed the room.

"45 minutes are up, now, before I give the last question, I will give you all a choice: If you want to leave, now is your chance. If you don't answer this tenth question correctly, not only will you and your team fail, but you will also be barred from being able to take this test ever again!"

Ibiki smirked as he looked around the room and saw more people get up and leave the room. He waited a few minutes for everyone who was going to leave to exit the room. When no one else showed any signs of giving up, he gave them the last question.

"Well, since you are all so confident in your abilities to pass this question, then I guess you all… PASS!"

There were a few shouts of disbelief, but they were soon interrupted by the entrance of the second proctor. Anko burst through the window, causing half the Genin to jump out of their seats. When she saw the number of Genin still left, she let out a small sigh.

"Seems to be quite a few more Genin this year Ibiki. I guess you just aren't as scary as you were, I hear that it's the first stage of going senile. You should really go get checked."

"Shut it Anko, there just seems to be more talent this year than there has been the past few years."

Anko looked between Neji and Sasuke, completely ignoring Naruto, much to his frustration. "Yeah I guess you might be right. Anyway, by the time I'm don't with them there won't be more than half this group! You brats, follow me!"

Anko jumped out the window, not waiting to see if the Genin were following. She ran at a quick pace, and several of the Genin were unable to keep up. After about 15 minutes of running she finally stopped in front of a large fence with caution signs all around. Past the fence was a very foreboding forest, where the trees themselves looked dangerous. The group landed a few seconds behind her, waiting for her to tell them all what their objective was.

"Okay this is Training Ground 44, but is better known as the Forest of Death. It's where your second exam is going to take place, so I hope you like what you see. You're going to be in there for a five day survival exercise."

"Five days," Naruto turned to see Chouji sweat, "what are we supposed to do for food?"

"Kill something, there's plenty of food in the forest. Same goes for you all though, some of the beasts in that place can get pretty big, and we don't exactly feed them. Anyways, these are what you all will be after." She reached into her trench coat and pulled out a pair of scrolls, one with the kanji for heaven, and the other with the kanji for earth. "Before the exam begins, each team will be given one of these two scrolls and assigned a gate where they will start off from. The Forest of Death is a perfect circle, with gates evenly spaced at the perimeter and a tower in the center. Once the exam begins you will have five days to acquire the scroll your team doesn't have and make your way to the tower in the center of the forest. You can't open the scrolls until you have arrived at the tower with both of them in your possession, so even if you manage to make it to the tower in one piece, you will fail if you don't have the scrolls. Once you get into the forest it'll turn into a free-for-all. You can use any jutsu or trick you have at your disposal and may use any amount of force you like. I just want you all to know that killing is allowed, though it is discouraged, so don't enter this forest unless you are confident in your abilities."

As she was speaking she began to notice that Naruto looked way to calm, almost bored. Her eyes narrowed when she concluded he explanation, and as quickly as she could she reached into her kunai pouch and threw a kunai at Naruto's cheek, expecting to instill some fear into the Genin.

When Naruto heard the familiar sound of metal clinking together, he quickly dodged the kunai hurled at his cheek moving his head slightly to the side. As the kunai whizzed past his face he put his finger through the hole at the handle of the kunai, catching it and spinning it around his finger. He griped the kunai backwards just in time to point it at Anko's midsection as she Shunshined behind him. Needless to say everyone in the area was stunned, they couldn't believe that a Genin had been so agile, able to catch their Chunnin instructor completely off guard.

"Anko-san, that wasn't very nice. What if I had dodged the other way? No part of your explanation did you say that we would have to face our own instructors."

"Very good Naruto-_kun _. I'm impressed with your speed, but it will take more than that to survive in this forest."

"Don't worry, I have much more up my sleeve."

Anko went back to her original position before talking again.

"Well, in addition to everything I just said, I need everyone here to fill out a waiver."

Everyone had heard enough from the purple-haired woman to not question her any further. After about an hour everyone was in position with their perspective scroll, ready to start the second phase of the exam. Team seven was stunned when Haku approached them and informed the group that he was to be put on the team for this portion of the exam, a direct order from the Hokage.

"Haku, are you on our team for this portion of the exam?"

"Yes Naruto-san, the Hokage has deemed it necessary to put me with another team, and since your team is the only on I have had any sort of contact with, your team was the only choice left. I will do my best to incorporate my skills into your group dynamic, and will harmonize my long ranged senbon attacks with your group's battle strategy."

"Sounds like this exam just got a lot more fun! I look forward to see what you learned, well lets go to our gate then!"

A large siren signaled the beginning of the exam, and Naruto's team rushed inside, nervous with anticipation.

'These next few days will be the most important thing I will have to change, if I can help Sasuke avoid the curse seal, he might just be able to see that he doesn't have to go to Orochimaru. I might be able to save him from his hatred before it consumes him.'

**'Don't hope for too much, he is as stubborn as you are. They only way your plan will work is if you kill Orochimaru, which I wouldn't have any problems with, but that is easier said than done.'**

'Don't underestimate me Kurama.'

**_Several Hours Later_**

Naruto and his team were able to get a decent way into the forest, but were forced to make camp for the night. The four took turns with the guard shift, though Naruto secretly made a Kage Bunshin just to make sure nothing happened, and to his relief, nothing did. Naruto decided to test his team's ability to work together, and so he made a few three man cells of Kage Bunshin, henged into other groups of shinobi, giving them enough chakra to survive being struck if necessary.

True to Naruto's prediction, Sasuke would charge in first, blaring his Sharingan and using several of his _Katon_ jutsu. Due to the amount of chakra Naruto put into each clone, they were able to easily deal with Sasuke singly, even managing to take punches. It wasn't soon after that Sasuke would fall back and eventually work with his team to deal with each Bunshin. Naruto was careful to make sure they only fought into a draw, knowing his team wouldn't be too happy if they found out they were fighting Naruto's Kage Bunshins.

Sakura was able to display her strength to Sasuke, showing her huge increase in raw physical power and speed. She managed to almost dispel one of the Bunshins using her speed to get behind the clone ready to strike full force at its chest, but got caught up in one of the branches before she was able to deliver the hit. Nonetheless, Sasuke was beyond stunned, he was wide-eyed at how strong his teammate had become.

Haku, true to his word, was expertly able to integrate his presence into the group's dynamic. He complemented the other three's techniques with his longer ranged attacks, providing the needed cover for each of them to get within striking range. Naruto's Bunshins found it slightly difficult to avoid Haku's pinpoint accuracy, enhanced with Haku's expert knowledge of the human anatomy.

Altogether, Naruto was very pleased with the progress that his compatriots were making. Sasuke was well beyond his capabilities at the time compared to himself in Naruto's time, given to all the special training sessions from Kakashi. Sakura was many times stronger than she ever was before she became Tsunade's apprentice, due to the fact that she wasn't trying to impress Sasuke with her looks anymore, but instead is trying to display her capabilities as a possible wife. Haku was an enigma, due to his early death in Naruto's time. From what Naruto was able to put together, Haku would become a valuable shinobi of Konoha. Naruto of course didn't display any of his true strength, and was careful to increase the gravity seals on his body to keep his movements in check.

**_Elsewhere in the Forest_**

"Please! Just let us go! Don't kill us!" An Ame ninja pleaded with the small read-head who had trapped him and his team in sand cocoons.

"It was never my intention to kill you. That side of me has been sealed away. I will simply take your scroll and render you unconscious. Lucky for you someone has shown me that there is another way to live besides being a machine of death."

Gaara then knocked out the three Ame shinobi with a swift strike to the base of the neck with a whip of sand. He then retrieved their scroll and put it inside his shirt before turning to his siblings.

"Temari, Kankuro. Let's go. I don't desire to be in this forest any longer than necessary."

The three took off, heading for the middle of the forest to enter the tower. Just when they left, Kiba jumped out into the clearing from behind some bushes.

"Damn! I would have loved to fight them, I could have taken them easy!"

Shino was the second to leave the bushes.

"Kiba, I doubt you have managed to land even a single hit, those three are probably only Genin because their village has deemed it necessary to hinder their promotions. They could easily be Jounin should they choose. You false bravado will get us into altercations if you don't keep it under control."

"What was that four eyes!? If you want to fight so much just tell me when and where!"

Hinata then left the bushes, aggravated by her boisterous teammate.

"Kiba, Shino is right. We wouldn't have stood a chance. We should leave before those three wake up though, I doubt we want to be here when they do."

**_Elsewhere in the Forest_**

Orochimaru ran through the forest, intent on finding Sasuke and giving him the cursed seal, the first step on his grand plan of Sasuke's desertion of Konoha. He had spent the first few days trying to get a fix on Sasuke's chakra signature, but it had taken him longer than he anticipated, especially when several Konoha Genin decided to get in his way. Though they were taken care of quickly, it still angered Orochimaru that he was so far behind schedule. His spirits were lifted though when he saw Naruto, standing on a branch, seemingly waiting for the snake Sannin.

"Why hello there Naruto-kun. What are you doing out so far by yourself… You should know better than that, after all, there are dangerous people in this forest…"

"Put a sock in it snake bastard! You make me sick, preying on children to fulfill your own sick desires. Has it ever occurred to you that Sasuke has already had enough darkness in his life? The last thing he needs is some pervert trying to use him for his own selfish gains."

Orochimaru's face was contorted in anger, though he was skilled at controlling his temper, he couldn't help but play into Naruto's goading.

"You know an awful lot for some Genin… More than I can allow you to. I was only going to rough you up a bit, but now," Orochimaru dashed at Naruto, extending his snake-like neck to bit Naruto in the neck, trying to sever his brainstem "I'LL KILL YOU!"

When Orochimaru's teeth sank into Naruto's neck, all his fangs hit was smoke as he dispelled the Kage Bunshin.

"Damn that brat… ill make him suffer…"

**_Back with Team 7_**

Naruto winced as he gained all of his Kage Bunshin's memories. He immediately yelled at his team to stop, wanting to at least warn them of the approaching threat.

"Guys, there is a very dangerous shinobi approaching us, fast. He is above Jounin level, so we can't beat him, he would tear us apart. His main target is Sasuke, he wants to put something called a curse seal on you which would sap your self-control, rendering you no more than a puppet to this guy. We CAN however lure him into a trap, but it would have to be very well laid out."

Sasuke eyed his teammate. "How do you know how strong this guy is and what he plans to do?"

"Because my Kage Bunshin just fought him, and he didn't even get a chance to attack, though he was a bit loose with his information."

Haku and Sakura weren't as hesitant to listen to Naruto. "Well, what do you think we should do"

"Sasuke, I want you to stay back with Haku and use you long-ranged _Katon_ jutsu. Sakura and I will do our best to deal with him I close quarters combat. We will lure him in to get the element of surprise. If my guess is right he will be here in a little less than a minute, so we have to hurry."

Sasuke sighed. "Dobe, the only reason I will go along with this is because I don't like the idea of someone controlling me, so don't let this go to your head."

"Heh, works for me."

**_Back to Orochimaru_**

"DAMMIT! Where did they go… I know I felt their chakra here. They couldn't have been able to escape that quickly… It's all that damn brat's fault! When I get my hands on him I'll-"

His rant was answered with a punch from Naruto, a full strength punch. What caught Orochimaru by surprise was that he wasn't able to sense Naruto at all. He was sent flying to the ground by Naruto's vicious hit.

'That punch was way more powerful than what a Genin could muster… If I hadn't turned my head at the last second in response to the punch, I would have been dead on the spot. That punch was stronger than Tsunade was in her prime! Just what in the hell is going on here?'

Just when Orochimaru was about to hit the ground, he was kicked in the back, sending him crashing into a tree. When he looked up he saw Sakura already retreating up into the canopy, but before she could hide herself, Orochimaru spotted a seal on her abdomen.

'So that's their secret. They are using seals to hide their presence from me. I wonder who among them is a Fuinjutsu user. It must be that brat; that would certainly explain his devastating punches. No matter, I will accomplish my mission.'

Orochimaru jumped from his position to avoid a massive _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)_. As he was in mid jumped he twisted his body to avoid a barrage of ice senbon needles, aimed at his pressure points.

'These brats amuse me to no end.'

Orochimaru landed on a branch upside down, and began looking around for his prey. He twisted his body around to block a barrage of Naruto and Sakura's strikes, deciding to play with them a bit before he killed Naruto. After Orochimaru knocked Naruto and Sakura to the ground, he was forced to jump from the branch by yet another batch of ice needles.

He was soon assaulted again by Naruto and Sakura, and their confrontation lasted for a few minutes. Haku had managed to throw ice needles at Orochimaru through Naruto and Sakura's opening, creating several openings for the two. When Orochimaru disengaged he was assaulted by Sasuke's _Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Art of the Phoenix Flower)_ forcing Orochimaru to the ground to avoid the fireballs soaring overhead.

"Your little tricks won't work on me. You all would need another ten years of training to even hope to fight me for real."

Naruto landed in front of him with a large smirk on his face.

"Is that right? Well, unfortunately for you, you have already been caught in my trap."

Naruto then put his fingers together to channel chakra into the seals he placed on Orochimaru during their brief encounter. Orochimaru cursed as his legs became anchored to the ground, as he was effectively rooted in place.

"Sasuke! Now!"

Orochimaru looked up to see his primary target perched on a tree branch, taking a deep breath and yelling, "_Katon: Karyu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)_". Team seven looked as they watched Orochimaru burn alive, and when the fire subsided, they saw a burnt body lying on the ground. Sasuke went to go see if the shinobi was really dead, but just as he approached, Orochimaru burst out from the ground, and shot his head forward from his body and bit Sasuke on the neck. Orochimaru was surprised however, when instead of screaming in pain, Sasuke just smirked at the snake Sannin as the henge dispelled and a Naruto Kage Bunshin took its place..

"Game over Orochimaru."

The Bunshin erupted into a massive explosion, forcing the team to jump back from the shockwave. This time Orochimaru wasn't so lucky in dodging the explosion, and though he wasn't seriously hurt, he no longer cared to prolong the fight any more. His arms and legs were lightly burnt, and his legs still ached from the seals.

"Consider yourself lucky brats, you get to live a little longer." He turned his attention to Sasuke. "Your talents are wasted on this pathetic excuse for a village. If you desire more power you should seek me out, I can give you all the power you would ever want."

Orochimaru disappeared in a gust of smoke and leaves, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, pleased with himself on how he managed to deal with the snake Sannin this time around. He looked around at his team, and noted their exhaustion as everyone collapsed to the ground.

"I don't think I've ever used so many intense _Katon_ jutsus in succession like that… I feel like my lungs are on fire… Plus it didn't help that I had to have my Sharingan active the whole time." Sasuke managed to say between pants.

"I too have never had to form so many ice needles before. It wouldn't have been so hard if we were near a source of water, but our here in the woods it consumes a lot more chakra than I would like."

Sakura looked down at her ankles and wrists. "Maybe I should have taken off my weights? I might have been able to go faster and might have been able to land some hits…"

Sasuke and Haku looked at Sakura in disbelief, they never knew that Sakura was weighted down during her fight since she was able to move so quickly during the fight. Then they all noticed Naruto, who hadn't even broken a sweat during the whole encounter.

"No Sakura, you should leave those on until you are sure there is no other chance at victory. Surprise is a shinobi's greatest asset." Naruto turned to face the rest of his team. "Guys, that was great. I don't think he ever expected us to be able to put up that kind of fight. I think we should rest here for tonight though, I don't think we will be able to cover much ground anyways with how tired we all are."

No one had the energy to complain, so they set up camp with Naruto taking the first guard shift.

'If I'm right, tonight is the night the Oto-nins attack. I can't let them get close to everyone else, they are all too tired to put up much of a fight. I might as well make a Kage Bunshin while I deal with the Oto-nins.'

It wasn't soon after Naruto left his camp that he stumbled on the shinobi he was looking for, the same ones who had attacked Kabuto during the first part of the exam. There was a boy with tubes coming out of his hands, probably surgically implanted, and black spiky hair, a kunoichi with very long black hair but otherwise had no other visible alterations, and finally a hunched-back boy with wrappings covering his entire face. It was the boy with the tubes, Zaku, who spoke first.

"Well, it looks like one of their group got a little separated! Too bad for you, but hey, we can work something out. If you tell us where Uchiha Sasuke is, we will only beat you severally instead of killing you. Not a bad deal if you ask me. How about it?

"I think that you sound too similar to your traitor of a master. I would never sell my teammates out, even if it means I have to lay down my own life."

This wasn't the answer Zaku was looking for, so he shot a highly condensed stream of air at Naruto, intending to push him down into the ground. What he wasn't expecting was for Naruto to Shunshin behind him and knock him out with a swift chop to the back of the head.

"One down, two to go. Now I think it's my turn to offer a deal. Give me the Earth scroll, and you can take your teammate here and leave."

The boy with the bandages seemed to be looking back and forth between Zaku and Naruto, while carefully thinking over the deal that had just been proposed. His female teammate, on the other hand, decided to charge right in, regardless of Naruto's obvious skill. She dashed at Naruto, swinging her fist towards Naruto's face.

"Stupid brat! I'll teach you to underestimate Otogakure!"

Her fist hit air, and when she looked down, Naruto's fist slammed into her jaw in a massive uppercut. Naruto made sure to infuse chakra into his fist to be sure he knocked her out. She fell to her knees then planted into the ground, out cold.

"My offer is still on the table. We don't have to fight you know, I don't have anything against you or your team."

Dosu looked at his teammates, then back to Naruto. From what Dosu could tell, Naruto had not even begun to show even a hint of his true strength, and he knew that he could never take Naruto one-on-one. He slowly took a scroll out of his robes and threw it at Naruto before walking over to recover his unconscious teammates.

"Take it, we have plenty. Don't think that we will let you get away with humiliating us like this."

Dosu quickly disappeared as he Shunshined away, heading for the tower to get his team to safety. Naruto sighed, not wanting to have to deal with a couple of enraged Oto-nin. Naruto turned around, and headed back to his team, who were all still resting. A few hours later, they all awoke, feeling a little tired but still able to continue. Naruto had to come up with a plan that his team could buy in order to explain getting the scroll instead of just saying he found it.

Naruto waited for everyone to get their things together, and just as Sasuke left the cave, one of Naruto's Kage Bunshins henged as Dosu tackled Sasuke to the ground, while other Bunshins henged as Kin and Zaku appeared at the front of the cave to separate Sasuke and 'Dosu'. Haku threw ice senbon needles at 'Zaku' while Sakura rushed at Kin, dodging 'Kin's' own barrage of senbon. Naruto rushed between them and kicked 'Dosu' off of Sasuke. The Bunshin henged as Dosu was sure that the kick knocked the scroll out of his jacket, having it drop to the ground. When Sasuke got up off the ground, he stared in amazement as 'Kin' was sent flying through the air after 'Dosu' from a hard punch from Sakura. Haku had managed to hit 'Zaku' with a few of the Senbon needles, though 'Zaku' was sure that the needles only hit spots that wouldn't disrupt the Kage Bunshin or the Henge itself. After 'Dosu' recovered, he got up off the ground, trying his best to act injured.

"Damn you! Mark my words, Konoha brats, Otogakure will show you all what true power is!"

Sasuke snorted at his words. "If what you three have is what you call "true power", then Otogakure must be a miserable failure of a village."

Naruto was more than happy to hear Sasuke's words, and was pleased with himself for managing to kill two birds with one stone. Team seven was about to pursue 'Dosu' and his team before Naruto stopped them.

"Wait, we already have their scroll. We should go to the tower before we run into another group. They might all not be as weak as those three were."

"Naruto-san is right. The most intelligent decision right now would be to rest at the tower and wait for this phase of the exam to end. We are all still tired, and we need to be at full strength in order to have the best chance of passing the next phase."

Everyone in the group nodded in agreement, and so their group headed quickly to the tower with Naruto in the lead. Naruto was very careful to direct them away from any other group, not eager to risk a potential confrontation. After a few hours of leaping through the trees, they arrived at the tower. They walked inside and opened up the scrolls. After a brief surge of chakra, Iruka appeared before them.

"Congratulations Team 7! You have cleared the first part of the second stage of the Chunnin exams. You still have 32 hours left before the five day time limit expires, so you may rest, eat, or train as you see fit. Now that introductions are out of the way, great job guys! I'm surprised you guys were able to make it here, especially with Naruto being a part of your team."

"Thanks Iruka-sensei… that makes me feel real good about myself…"

Iruka waited for the rest of Naruto's team to leave before he embraced Naruto in a tight hug. "I was kidding and you know it. I was worried about you guys, it isn't uncommon for Genin to die during this section of the exams."

"Well I guess I'm not your average Genin then!"

Iruka ended the hug and stood back up. "I guess you aren't. Well, like I said, you should take this time to rest and get something wholesome to eat. You still have plenty of time before we have to start the next part of the exams."

"Don't worry, I will!"

Iruka left Naruto to go help prepare for the next stage of the exam, and Naruto began to walk around the tower and talk to the different teams who had made it. He met up with Gaara and his team and was happy to learn that Gaara had resisted the urge to kill the group of Ame-nin. After Naruto caught up with several of the teams, though he was glad he didn't have to deal with Kiba yet, he went back to his own team. They were all awake after a short nap, and were just finishing up eating as Naruto walked in.

"Hey guys! Feeling better?" Everyone looked up at him with confused looks. "What?"

Haku was the first to answer. "Well, we were talking and we were worried about your health. You haven't slept since before our encounter with that Kusa-nin, and you have barely eaten anything."

"That isn't true, I have a stash of soldier pills that have kept me going, not to mention that my stamina is practically my only strength, so don't worry about me! I was actually coming up here to grab a bite to eat"

Naruto mentally cursed at himself. 'DAMMIT! How could I have been so careless? Genin aren't supposed to know how to convert chakra to keep their bodies going for long periods of time… I need to be more careful.'

"Hey guys, after I'm done, let's say we go train for a bit?"

Naruto was counting on Sasuke to immediately grab the bait. "I'll go, I don't feel that I got enough out of that forest in terms of progress, so I guess this can make up for it." Haku and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Perfect."

**_An Hour Later_**

Team 7 was in one of the many training grounds within the tower. Haku and Sasuke were busy sparing against one another, but Naruto pulled Sakura away from the group.

"What do you want Naruto? This is one of my chances to show Sasuke how strong I've become!"

"Just listen to me. This is going to help you on that front." Sakura immediately became quite and began listening intently. "Now that I have your attention, I want to ask you how your chakra control exercises are coming along?"

"I've mastered the leaf exercise, and I can hold at least five leaves at the same time for about an hour."

"Good. Well, now I think you are ready to take your training to the next step."

"What do you mean?"

"It'll be easier to show you. Just don't move." Naruto gathered a sizeable amount of chakra in his index finger, and brought it up to Sakura's forehead. She was about to ask him what he was doing but he cut her off with a flick of his finger. The chakra enhanced flick sent her stumbling back several yards from where she had been earlier, earning the surprised looks of Haku and Sasuke, but they soon were back to their spar.

Sakura picked herself up off the floor. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!? IT FELT LIKE I WAS HIT BY A-" Sakura didn't finish her rant as she grasped what Naruto was trying to imply. She now understood why Naruto had made her train so hard in chakra control and basic strength exercises. She walked over to Naruto once again, hitting him outside the head in just retribution.

"So, I get how I'm supposed to gather chakra in my limbs before I strike, but my question is how were you able to do it? For you to hit me with your index finger and send me flying it must mean that your control is better than mine. So tell me, who taught you?"

"Sakura, you have two options. I could tell you what you want to know, but by doing so I would never train you from that moment forward. Or, you could accept the fact that I know what I know without any questions and I will train you in what I know. Those are your two options, which is it?"

"*Sigh* Fine I won't ask any more questions, just tell me how to do what you just did."

"Glad to hear it! Anyway, this is going to take a while and the chakra consumption is pretty hefty, so I don't suggest you use this technique anytime soon, though due to your excellent chakra control you should have the basics down before the next part of the Exam." Sakura nodded in understanding. "Anyway, let's get started."

**_At the Tower Entrance_**

Team 8 made their way to the base of the Tower, just barely making the time limit with only four hours to spare. Their team had run into trouble in obtaining a set of scrolls. They had managed to gain the scrolls, but one of the more brash members of their team made it a point to challenge each team they ran across, and so had lost their scrolls early on in the second day of the test. It had then taken them another two days to get back the scrolls, and were finally on the fifth day, returning to the tower. The team entered in silence, and it was obvious to anyone passing by that there was much anger directed at the one with red facial markings. The team had finished summoning a Chunnin, and were about to go their separate ways before Shino turned to Kiba.

"I will say this only once, so you had better listen well to me Kiba, if in the future your actions once again put the rest of our team at risk, I will treat it as an act of desertion towards our team and will treat it with due force. You would do well to heed this warning, since there will only be one."

Shino then turned on his heel and began walking down one of the many hallways that webbed throughout the massive tower. Kiba was left in silence, and was about to say something to his female teammate before she too turned to him.

"I'm sorry Kiba, but I agree with Shino-san."

Then she too disappeared, leaving Kiba to mull over their words.

"Heh, they can try, but they both know that in a one-on-one I can take them both. Shino's damn bugs cant zap my chakra too well when I'm merged with Akamaru, and Hinata… well, it shouldn't be too much trouble to get past her defenses… Guess I'll go get ready for the next test."

**_Several Hours Later_**

The Hokage had gathered all the teams who were able to pass the second portion of the Chunnin Exams. He explained that the number of participants were still too high, and so they had to host a round of preliminary matches to cut the number in half, though he gave all the Genin one last chance to drop out of the matches, which this time, Kabuto didn't take.

'Hmmm, I wonder who he will be matched up against. That should be an interesting fight.' Naruto thought to himself.

After explanations, all the Genin who were going to participate went up to the balcony overlooking the large area which they were given to spar in.

When Naruto and his team got up to the balcony, Naruto noticed Hinata running over to him. He was glad to see her, but was sad at the same time because he didn't want her to get hurt. When Hinata reached their group she gave Naruto a strong hug. Sakura looked at them with an "Awww" kind of happy face while Sasuke turned away from them as an embarrassed blush spread across his face.

Naruto figured this would be as good a time as any to fulfill his promise to Haku to meet Hinata. "Haku, this is Hinata, she is my… ugh… girlfriend…"

'No matter what, I will never get used to saying that.'

Haku approached the girl who was still wrapped around Naruto. "Hello, my name is Haku, it is an honor to meet you. I have devoted my existence to repay Naruto-san for giving me another chance to live for something. I will therefore protect those that are precious to him, and by extension that includes you."

"The young Hyuuga gave an awkward nod before breaking her embrace. "Thank you Haku-san, it's good to meet you too."

When the teams had taken their positions, the proctor Hayate, appeared in the area, and began explaining the rules to the spars, the fights would continue until one contestant forfeits, or was deemed unable to continue fighting by the proctor. His explanations were frequently interrupted with bouts of coughing, much to everyone's annoyance. Eventually, a monitor appeared and the matches were decided by random draw.

The names_ Akado Yoroi vs Haku_ flashed up on the screen. Naruto gave his friend a few words of encouragement before he jumped down to the ground where his opponent was already waiting.

Hayate waited until both fighters were in their positions. "Ready?... Begin!"

Yoroi didn't wait for Haku to make the first move, he rushed Haku and got behind him. He managed to get Haku into a headlock.

"Hahaha! What a pathetic excuse for a Genin. This will be over in just a few seconds, so just sit tight while I suck your chakra dry! Don't worry though, it won't hurt too-"

Yoroi looked at the person he was clutching as it began to dissolve into a large pool of water. 'A _Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone) _eh? Where is the real one?' Yoroi didn't get a chance to find Haku before he felt several senbon lodge themselves in his back, hitting pressure points on his spine, knocking Yoroi out cold before he even hit the ground.

The rest of the crowd gawked in silence, all except Naruto, they couldn't believe that a Genin had been able to so efficiently defeat his opponent in such a one-sided fight. The silence was broken a few seconds later when Hayate declared the match between his bouts of coughing.

"Winner: Haku. Will the medic team please retrieve Akado Yoroi and can Haku please return to the balcony while the computer declares the next match."

The room watched once again as names flashed across the screen before finally settling on the names_ Tsurugi Misumi vs Sabaku no Kankuro_.

'Well, at least this match is the same.' A certain blonde-haired shinobi thought to himself as he watched the match play out in the same fashion as it had done the first time around. Tsurugi attempted to intertwine his limbs around Kankuro at the start, and proceeded to snap "Kankuro's" neck. Once again Kankuro revealed himself after he jumped off the back of his puppet, and then broke Tsurugi's bones with his puppet. A brutal but nonetheless efficient way to win the match.

"Winner: Kankuro. Can a medic team please retrieve Tsurugi Misumi and take him for emergency treatment?"

After the broken Genin was retrieved, the computer once again flashed into existence before the names _Nara Shikamaru vs Tsuchi Kin_ flashed up on the screen. Kin started by dodging the Shadow Imitation Technique and throwing a barrage of senbon needles, using strings to ring the bells from unexpected positions to divert Shikamaru's attention and attack him from behind.

'This guy is a pushover, too bad Orochimaru-sama gave us all information on the contestants already, so I know all about his _Kagemane_'

Her thoughts stopped when she felt her body come to a halt, and she heard her opponent say, "Shadow manipulation, successful."

With Kin matching Shikamaru's movements, each drew a shuriken and flung it at the other. When it came time for them to dodge the attack, Shikamaru ducked successfully. Kin, having previously retreated, smashed her head against the wall and knocked herself out because she was too close to the wall. Once again Hayate called the match.

"Winner: Nara Shikamaru. Will medic-nins please come and take the kunoichi for an examination. She likely has a concussion."

No one really paid attention to the coughing man, they were all focused on the computer screen, waiting for the next match. Soon enough, the names _Abume Zaku vs Sabaku no Temari_ appeared on the monitor.

'Oh, this one sure is different. I wonder what Zaku will be able to do this time around without having his arms broken by Sasuke.' Naruto mused to himself as the fighters took their positions.

As soon as the match started, Zaku lifted his hands and shot out several highly condensed jets of chakra-infused air. This attack was easily blocked by a gust of wind summoned by Temari's large fan. The match was quite one-sided, as Temari cut up Zaku with gusts from her huge fan, not letting the Oto-nin even have the chance for a counter attack. Less than a minute after the match began, Zaku's hands were bleeding heavily, rendering his chakra tubes useless. Hayate stepped in to prevent another Genin from getting knocked unconscious.

"Winner: Sabaku no Temari. Abume Zaku, please make your way to the medical bay to have your injuries treated"

All eyes once again turned upwards as the monitor flashed into existence. After a few seconds the names _Rock Lee vs Aburame Shino_ appeared on the screen. Most people tried to ignore the green-spandex clad ninja who was yelling words of encouragement to his student, mostly rambling on about the 'product of hard work' and 'living in the springtime of youthfulness'.

'This has GOT to be interesting! Let's see if Shino's bugs can keep up with Lee's speed.'

The match began as a simple Taijutsu fight between the two fighters, though Lee clearly seemed to have a distinct advantage. After a few minutes the fighters broke apart, and Shino reached up to fix his sunglasses.

"This match has already been decided Rock Lee. I have already implanted several Kikaichu on you, and soon they will drain your chakra until you won't be able to cast any ninjutsu or genjustu. When enough time has passed, you will eventually fall unconscious due to chakra exhaustion. Forfeit now."

Sino raised an eyebrow when his opponent began laughing, not a mocking laugh but simply a humorous laugh.

"I apologize Shino-san, but your bugs are useless to you now. Unfortunately for you, I was already unable to perform any ninjutsu or genjutsu of any kind, so your strategy won't work on me, as I simply rely on taijutsu."

Shino mentally cursed when Lee disappeared, landing a roundhouse kick to Shino's back sending him skidding across the floor. When Shino got up Lee was once again gone. Shino barely had time to block Lee's punch to his gut, only able to thanks to his bugs enhancing Shino's feeling for vibrations in the air. The fight drug on for a few more minutes, with Shino clearly on the defensive as he did his best to block Lee's quick movements, in vain more than half the time.

Early on in the fight Shino's bugs had detached themselves from Lee, full to the brim with as much of his chakra as they could siphon, but Shino was unable to implant any more on his opponent, he was simply too fast. Lee was able to dance around Shino and his bugs as if they were moving in slow motion. It soon became clear to Shino that he had almost no chance at victory.

"Proctor, I forfeit."

Hayate nodded before announcing the match. "Winner: Rock Lee. Will both fighters take their positions at the top of the balcony."

Shino returned to his team, welcomed with a snide comment from Kiba about how he could have kicked Lee's ass. Shino remained impassive, just hoping that Kiba's matchup would pummeled him into the ground. Lee on the other hand, returned to a teary-eyed sensei, and the two embraced while the rest of the team looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

By the time the fighters returned to their balconies, the computer monitor already had the next match, _Yakushi Kabuto vs Sabaku no Gaara_.

This match proved anticlimactic as well, as Kabuto forfeited right as the match was called, not wanting to reveal any of his own strength or that of Gaara, whom he still believed was going to help destroy Konoha. The next matchup, however, caught everyone by surprise, and many had to do a double take to make sure they read it correctly. _Uchiha Sasuke vs Haruno Sakura_.

Sakura's heart sank, 'Sure I wanted to show Sasuke how strong I was, but I never wanted to actually fight him! There is no way I could possibly ever win, and if by some stroke of luck I DID win, Sasuke would be so angry with me that he would never talk to me again!' She continued on for a few more seconds like this until Naruto knocked her outside the head.

"Sakura, I know what you're thinking. Just because you don't believe in your capabilities doesn't mean no one else does. If you don't trust yourself then trust me. Also, which do you think Sasuke would be more angry with, you fighting him with everything you have and MABEY losing, or you forfeiting or worse, letting him intentionally win." The look in Sakura's face told him that she understood. "Good, now go show Sasuke just how strong you have gotten!"

Sakura made her way to the floor where she stood across form Sasuke, whom she could have sworn had what looked like a light blush across his cheeks.

"Ready? Begin!"

Sasuke had intended to end the match before he had to humiliate his teammate, but to his surprise she had been the one to rush at him, and fast. Sasuke barely was able to dodge the strike to his stomach, spinning in mid-air as he flared his Sharingan to life.

'What was that!? When did she get so fast? It was the same in the forest too… I have to be careful'

Sasuke re-engaged his teammate, and the two became caught up in a furious taijutsu fight. Whatever notions either of them had about holding back were quickly dispelled as they began an all-out struggle. After about a minute, they both jumped back, seemingly a bit winded.

"When did you get so strong Sakura-chan? I don't ever remember you having so much skill."

'Did… did he just end my name in –_chan_! Wait, that means Naruto was right… DAMMIT! I hate when he's right…'

"Thanks Sasuke-kun! I've been training ridiculously hard with Naruto, but you better get ready, because I'm not going to hold back anymore." She said as she began to take off the weights around her ankles and wrists. When they dropped to the ground they sank into the stone floor, even though they weren't that far off the ground. Sasuke's eyes widened at what he saw, and he prepared himself for whatever Sakura could throw at him.

What he wasn't expecting was when Sakura stood up, she disappeared completely, delivering a sweeping kick to his legs, though he managed to jump over it thanks to his Sharingan.

'Damn! She's so much faster than before, if she hits me I'll be in serious trouble.' Sasuke thought as he flipped through the air, landing in a low crouch to avoid a blow from Sakura. With his Sharingan, he could see her movements easy enough, but keeping up with them proved to be much easier said than done. Sasuke spent the next few minutes dodging Sakura's strikes, dancing around her punches and kicks while simultaneously trying to land a few hits of his own, with little success. In a pinch Sasuke would normally dish out a _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique) _or a _Katon: Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Art of the Phoenix Flower)_ to get some breathing room or to deter Sakura from advancing on Sasuke any further. All in all, Sakura managed to push Sasuke to his limit, a feat he never thought would have been possible, especially from this fan girl, well ex-fan girl.

Both Sasuke and Sakura were gasping for breath, neither able to overpower the other.

"Well Sasuke-kun, I think it's about time you give this up. We both know that I will win this."

'Well, it seems that when she gets into the swing of things, she can be just fierce a competitor as Sasuke is.' Naruto thought to himself as he watched the match.

"Ha, I think you should heed your own advice Sakura-chan. You don't have any notable ninjutsu to use against me, and I think you are just about out of stamina."

"Well then, I guess I better end this quickly then!"

Sasuke stared in confusion as his teammate began to channel her chakra to her feet, and in a split-second she covered the distance between them. Just as Sasuke was dodging the hand that passed though the space his body was just in, he noticed a strange green glow around Sakura's fist. He almost released his bladder when he saw what happened when Sakura's fist made contact with the ground. She managed to smash the stone floor to pieces, and the entire ground was riddled with a web-like pattern of cracks from the force of the hit. The entire audience, Sasuke included, stared wide-eyed at the pure destruction the young girl had caused, unable to believe that a Genin was able to perform such a feat.

*Sigh* "I told her she shouldn't use that yet. She doesn't have enough chakra to sustain that technique for very long, but she will figure that out in a few seconds anyway." Naruto mumbled to himself.

When Sakura removed her fist from the ground, she looked over to her stunned crush.

"Well, what do you think Sasuke-kun? It's a good thing that hit hadn't landed, cause I would have already been on my way to-"

She didn't get a chance to finish her thoughts when she collapsed from chakra depletion, but before she hit the ground Sasuke managed to catch her. Naruto saw Sasuke mouth a few words to the unconscious Sakura but wasn't quite able to make out what he said. Hayate then called the match.

"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke. Will a medic team please take Haruno Sakura for treatment? Also, would Chunnin proficient in _Doton_ please come and fix the floor for the next match."

Sasuke turned to the medic-nins who arrived on the scene. "Don't worry, I'll take her." The medics nodded then turned to let Sasuke follow them down one of the halls.

By the time the two had exited the area, the computer already had the next match up on the screen, _Hyuuga Neji vs Hyuuga Hinata_.

'Crap, I was hoping this matchup would change…' Naruto thought to himself before turning to Hinata before she leapt down to the floor. "Hina-chan, would you… maybe consider forfeiting this match?"

Hinata looked hurt at his words. "Do you not have faith in me? I'm not afraid of Neji, and I am well aware of his grudge towards you and myself. Though I may not win, would you not even want me to try?"

Naruto let out a long exacerbated sigh. "You're right Hina-hime, I'm sorry; I am just worried about you. Just make sure you are safe ok?"

Hinata pulled Naruto down by the collar of his shirt and gave him a passionate kiss as her answer. She giggled slightly as she watched a blush creep over Naruto's face, happy that their positions had reversed themselves after all these years.

Hinata jumped down to the arena floor to face her cousin. Neji looked at Hinata with disdain, hating her for being from the main family. When Hayate began the match he began to berate his cousin.

"Hinata-_sama_, you should forfeit this match. You and I both know that my skills in Juken dwarf your own. I do not wish to maim the heiress of my clan so early on in her life."

"Thank you for your consideration Neji-kun. Unfortunately it is unnecessary, I am confident in my abilities, and even though I may not be able to win this, I will still fight."

Neji's Byakugan flared into being. "So be it."

He charged Hinata with a palm strike to her abdomen, but she twisted around his arm and tried to land one of her own strikes to his shoulder in hopes of taking one of his arms out of commission. If Neji was surprised at her speed, he didn't show it, and was easily able to duck her strike while he swept her legs. As she stumbled to the ground Neji attempted to strike at the tenketsu points along her arm, but from her odd angle she was able to plant her hands on the ground, pushing off the floor and away from Neji.

When Hinata regained her footing, she charged at Neji from above, bringing her palm down on his back. Her hand passed through air, as Neji deftly slipped out from under her assault, allowing her to smash into the floor, leaving a small crater. Hinata barely had time to free herself and jump up around Neji before his own palm strike crashed where she was. Once again Hinata was above Neji's back, while Neji only scoffed still looking away from her.

"Just give up; this fight is beginning to bore me already. This is your last warning before I-"

He stopped talking when a very sharp pain coursed through his back, stunning him momentarily. Hinata charged with as much speed as she could muster, intending to knock him unconscious. He regained mobility at the last second and ducked as Hinata passed over him harmlessly, turning to face him.

"W-What did you do!?"

"I used strategy to overcome a stronger opponent. Thanks to Naruto-kun's many spars I was able to discover the blind spot in Byakugan, and so I threw the stone I picked up from when my first strike missed. You would do well not to underestimate your opponent Neji-kun."

Neji looked at his cousin with seething rage, wanting to inflict as much pain as he could for his humiliation.

"I'm impressed Hinata-_sama_, you have exceeded what I had gauged to be your potential. It is unfortunate then that I must end this." Neji then settled into a strange stance. "You're within my range."

'Oh shit…' Naruto thought to himself when he immediately recognized Neji's stance.

Hinata looked at her cousin, ready to test out her own technique she had been developing for the past few months, gathering chakra in her palms, "_Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protection of the Eight Trigrams 64 Palms)_". Neji rushed forward, "_Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams 64 Palms Technique)_". "Two strikes". Neji watched as his cousin managed to deflect his strikes with strange arcs of chakra emanating from her palms. 'It doesn't matter; I will just crush her defense, whatever it is.' "Four Strikes". Hinata was only able to block three of the strikes, and one closed a tenketsu point on her shoulder, restricting her chakra to her right arm. "Eight Strikes". This time Hinata only managed to block a few of the strikes, and the rest of the strikes hit various points on her arms, limiting her defensive technique. "Sixteen Strikes". Hinata was now defenseless as these strikes tore through the chakra barrier she had erected.

Nartuo was gripping the metal bars around the balcony so hard that they began to be crushed by his iron grip. 'If I go down there now, Hinata will be angry with me. I have to let her stand up to her cousin on her own.'

"Thirty-two Strikes". Hinata was unable to so much as wince in pain as she took the brunt of Neji's attack. "Sixty-four Strikes!" The final blow pushed Hinata clear across the floor. She very slowly managed to get up on her own, though her legs were about to buckle under her at any moment.

"I am surprised that you are still standing after that. I suppose you _are_ the heiress of our clan, so it isn't too surprising."

"I-I feel bad for you Neji-kun…"

"What did you say?"

"I said I feel bad for you. You blame everything on everyone else, not taking any control of your own life as you curse 'fate' for taking your father from you. So I truly feel sorry for you."

Neji saw red and rushed his cousin, gathering as much chakra in his hand as he could muster, aiming for her heart. When he was within a few feet of Hinata, a blur of yellow got in his way, and he suddenly felt pain in his hand. He Neji looked he saw Naruto crushing his hand.

"You shouldn't have done that Neji. I promised that I would believe in Hinata and allow her to fight you with her own power, but what you were about to do is unforgivable."

Naruto began strengthening his grip on Neji's hand, forcing the older boy to his knees as he was unable to break the grasp. Even when the Jounin showed up, Naruto refused to let go. It was only after Hayate declared the match and threatened Naruto with automatically failing him in his match did he let go, but not before giving one last strong squeeze to Neji's hand, breaking a few of his fingers. To everyone's surprise Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

While Naruto's Kage Bunshin was dealing with Neji, he had picked up the now unconscious Hinata and began to carry her to the medic-nins before the match was even called. While he was walking away he shot one glance back at Neji.

"I'm not finished with you yet. Although I would much rather be friends with Hina-chan's family, it seems that until you're face-down in the dirt, you won't let go of your hatred towards Hinata."

The Jounin Senseis looked at each other with confused looks, unable to make heads or tails of how Naruto was able to get on the scene before they had, not to mention he had subdued one of the strongest Genin of the entire tournament in a matter of seconds.

Naruto didn't have to look at the screen when he saw Kiba smirk and jump down to the arena floor. After Naruto handed Hinata over to the medic-nins he turned around and glared at Kiba, who just laughed.

"That was too good, Neji really kicked her ass! Don't worry; I'll make sure that they put you in the cot next to hers in the medical wing!"

Naruto simply shook in rage. 'Kurama… If I start to get out of control I want you to take control of me. I can't do anything that I would regret… No matter how angry I am right now.'

**'Just be careful. You still need to hold back. If Orochimaru sees how strong you are he might run and we would never find him.'**

'I know.'

"Next match between Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto, Begin!"

Kiba started off the match with his _Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four Legs Technique)_ and a _Jujin Bunshin (Human Beast Clone)_ for an increase in speed and to make Akamaru combat ready. They then both charged at Naruto, Akamaru going for Naruto's legs in an attempt to incapacitate him while Kiba went for Naruto's chest to give him a large gash.

Naruto waited for Kiba to come at him, not moving a muscle. When the two were almost upon him, he moved behind the two, taking them both by the base of the neck and shoving them forcibly into the floor. Naruto then took a few steps back still facing his opponent.

"Get up. You aren't finished."

The Jounin watching the match couldn't help but sweat at how strong and cold Naruto was acting, especially towards a fellow Konoha shinobi. Kurenai, who was standing with Kakashi and Gai, was going to stop the match for the sake of her pupil until Kakashi stopped her.

"Don't Kurenai. Both Naruto and Kiba would be very upset if you interfered now. Naruto isn't just being upset for no reason. Kiba has repeatedly made unwanted advances upon Hinata Hyuuga despite both Naruto and Hinata's pleas to stop. I also heard that recently he made a remark towards Naruto's… position… aimed at degrading Hinata's character."

Kurenai turned to look at Kakashi. "I don't care about what childish encounters occurred between Naruto and Kiba, though I will have a talk with Kiba about it after his match. It doesn't warrant for Naruto to beat him to a pulp!"

"You're right, it doesn't. I just wanted to make sure that you knew the reasoning behind Naruto's actions, but that isn't why I stopped you. Kiba isn't defeated yet."

Kurenai turned around to see Kiba and Akamaru get up to their feet, bleeding slightly from their nose but otherwise fine.

'So he held back after all. It seems that no matter how angry he gets, Naruto isn't able to deal any significant damage to one of his comrades.' Kakashi thought to himself.

Kiba wiped the blood trickling down from his nose. "Bastard… You'll pay for that." He then took two small pills out the pouch around his waist. Akamaru looked at him questioningly. "I know boy, it's a little early, but I want to show this guy just how outclassed he is." Kiba and Akamaru each took a pill, and their chakra flared wildly.

"_Jinjū Konbi Henge: Sōtōrō (Human Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf)!_"

'So, he wants to use his strongest technique to defeat me in terms of taijutsu? I'll best him at his own game.'

After the smoke cleared, a huge double-headed dog stood in the middle of the arena floor. Both heads were looking down at Naruto with large scowls on their faces. Suddenly the massive dog disappeared, though Naruto was able to easily follow it. Naruto looked up to see the giant dog begin to roll in midair.

"_Garōga (Fang Wolf Fang)!_"

Naruto put his right hand over his left forearm, channeling chakra. Suddenly markings appeared on his skin, and began to move their way to Naruto's palm.

"_Fuinjutsu: Gurando Ten Baria (Grand Heavens Barrier)_"

A large purple octagonal mass a foot thick and several meters across appeared between Naruto and the spinning dog. Kiba smashed into the barrier, thinking it was a simple trick to buy some time, but the more force he used to press into the barrier the more pain he felt. Soon, Kiba was pushed back with a huge force, slamming him into the opposite wall of the arena, dispelling the jutsu holding the large dog together.

'I'll give it to him; he is much stronger than he was during the first Chunnin Exam.'

"Let's go Kiba. I haven't even gotten started. Come at me with everything you have. I have a promise to fulfill, and neither of us are leaving till you are face-down on this floor."

It didn't take much goading from Naruto to make Kiba charge him, a mistake Kiba would later come to regret. When Kiba was within striking range, Naruto slammed his fist into his opponents gut, knocking the wind out of him. When Kiba looked up at Naruto, he had enough time to see Naruto's fist make contact with Kiba's face, sending him flying towards the other end of the arena, unconscious. Naruto then held up his hand to his right and caught Akamaru who launched himself at Naruto, still trying to win the match. Naruto caught the dog and held him by the scruff.

"Proctor. This match is over."

Hayate nodded. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto. Can a team please retrieve Inuzuka Kiba for an examination."

Naruto let go of Akamaru who went running over to his owner's unconscious form, yelping mildly. Naruto simply went to the medical bay to stay with Hinata, not caring the outcomes of the next two fights.

When Kakashi and Kurenai came by a half hour later Naruto learned the last to matches. The one after his had been Chouji vs Dosu, and the outcome was the same as Naruto had already seen. Chouji sought to get past Dosu's sound-based attacks by performing the _Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank)_ but Dosu was still able to use his attack by manipulating sound through the water in Choji's body. The next match had been a major disappointment. The final match was Ino vs Tenten, and immediately Ino forfeited the match, knowing that she wouldn't be able to win against the weapons specialist since she couldn't get close enough to use her _Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique)_, and didn't want to get unnecessarily hurt.

After Kakashi finished relaying the rest of the match to Naruto and telling him that he had a month to prepare for the finals, he left the room so Kurenai could get a chance to talk to Naruto.

"Naruto, I think we should talk about your match against Kiba."

"I have nothing to talk about. I abided by the rules, and I didn't do any more damage than necessary to win. He should be grateful that I didn't make the match last longer, no matter how much I wished to hurt him, I know Hinata would have been upset with me if I injured her teammate too much, even though she likes him less than I do. So if there is anything to talk about, it should be how you are going to talk to Kiba about changing his attitude, otherwise we're finished."

Kurenai had a mixed batch of emotions about what Naruto just said. At first she was upset with how disrespectful Naruto was with her and she had to resist putting him under a Genjutsu to teach him manners. She then saw what the blonde Genin was actually saying, he played fair and only wanted to get rid of Kiba's superiority complex. Kurenai let out a long sigh, realizing there was nothing she could say to Naruto to make him regret his actions.

"I guess I can't do anything really since it was all fair play according to the rules of the exam. Good luck in the finals Naruto."

'Well, I guess I fixed Kiba's attitude problem, for now. I can always issue another beat-down if he desires a rematch. There is only one more person left now. I hope he is as ready as I am when this month is up.'

**'I doubt it. And if you did lose, I would personally take over your body as punishment and never let you have control again.'**

'Thanks, I'm glad I can always count on you for encouragement Kurama.'

The giant fox chuckled in Naruto's mindscape.

**End**

**AN: So what do you all think? For any Kiba lovers out there i apologze for making him such a prick, but that is kinda how he acted during teh exams, really really cocky. Plus, i just wanted to give Naruto a good reason to smack him down really hard. Next chapter is going to be a good one, we will finally get to see Naruto's full strength, at least what i can gauge it as... should be fun.**

**Anyway, please review and send me any comments/concerns/suggestions for improvement, because i seriously do take them to heart. This is a learning experience for me, and i cant get any better if no one tells me how I'm doing. I will try my best to get back to you if you as a question, but please be patient with me. **

**Anyway, till next time!**


	8. Preparing for the Finals

**AN: Well hello everyone, long time no see! This chapter took me a long time to complete for some reason, so sorry about that, i wasnt kidding when i said classes were getting harder... Mechanical Engineering is a pain...**

**Well, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto**

**_Chapter 8_**

Naruto blinked sleepily as he slowly awoke in his apartment. It was well before dawn, but there was something he had to take care of before most the citizens awoke. He usually did his advance chakra manipulations early in the morning, far away from Konoha to minimize the chances that he was discovered. Having the Hokage and Kakashi know about his abilities was already bad enough, but perhaps he could manage to work that to his favor. He hadn't even told Hinata what he was fully capable of yet, unsure of how she would take the news that her boyfriend actually was well into his twenties emotionally.

Naruto ran through the village avoiding any ninja who just might have happened to be up and about. This of course applied to two green-spandex clad shinobi who got up well before dawn everyday for Taijutsu training.

He reached the training grounds after only a few minutes, thanks to his inhumane speed due to the gravity seals he had been training with for several years now. Naruto was beginning to become very adept at the art of Fuinjutsu, learning how to incorporate his seals into aspects that most people would never know, even in applications as simple as making a transportation seal for his trashcan that sent anything thrown into it to disappear into the dumpster thanks to a space-time Ninjutsu he embedded into his seal.

Naruto began his string of jutsu, and once again became exhausted after only a few minutes of using the advance "Kekki Genkai."

Naruto took a small break propped up against a large tree, panting heavily. 'Kurama, I haven't seen very much improvement, I run out of chakra too fast when I use these jutsu. I burn through all my chakra and I can't use yours unless I want to tell the whole world I'm not from this time. I don't want to use my backup plan just yet either; I need to save those for the right time.'

**'That is why it's called training Naruto. Nothing in life comes easy, that applies for everything from love to jutsu.'**

'Yeah, but I've been training for weeks now, and using these jutsu hasn't gotten any easier. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.'

**'Gaki, stop complaining and get back to training. Just keep practicing as normal and eventually it will get easier, or are you just going to whine until Orochimaru or the Akatsuki shows up?'**

'Hmpf.'

Several hours later and an exhausted Naruto stumbled home, but before he reached his door he saw Hinata waiting outside.

"Hello Hina-chan. What are you doing here? I thought for sure that you would be with your father train- HMPF"

He was silenced as Hinata jumped at him crash her lips onto his. Their embrace lasted for several minutes, with the fiery kiss getting more and more passionate as the minutes passed. After what felt like only a few seconds, Naruto broke off the kiss, looking both pleased and confused.

"Well good morning to you too, but what has gotten into you today?"

Hinata looked slightly hurt at his question.

"Do you really not know what day it is today?"

Naruto thought for a few seconds, trying to figure out what she meant. Naruto's eyes widened when it suddenly hit him.

'Today was the day I saved her from that Kumo nin! But she shouldn't know; Hiashi gave me his word he wouldn't tell her.'

**'I don't think he did. You don't give the girl enough credit; she probably was able to figure it out.'**

Naruto brought his facial features back under control and smiled. "Sorry Hina-chan, I really don't know what today is."

Hinata took a step back and crossed her arms across her chest. "Naruto, I'm not a little girl! I'm not naïve enough to believe that you saving me was just a dream. I thought you would trust me more than that!"

Naruto chuckled at Hinata's best attempt at a pout. He took a step forward and brought her in close for a tight hug.

"You're right Hina-chan. I'm sorry for not telling you right off the bat, but I just wanted to try and protect you from that traumatic incident. How about I take you somewhere for breakfast to make up for it?"

Hinata closed her eyes and snuggled tighter into his chest. "Sure, that'd be great."

"Ok, but I have to get a shower first, I just got back from some training."

Naruto quickly got cleaned up and the two made their way to a random shop in Konoha. They went into one of the few places that would allow Naruto inside and had a quite meal just enjoying their time together. After they left Hinata took Naruto's hand and began to pull him towards a park where they could spend some time together, but Naruto didn't budge. Hinata turned around and gave Naruto a very puzzled look.

"I'm sorry Hina-chan, but I have to meet someone very important today."

Hinata let go of his hand and looked at the ground. She felt a hand below her chin and lift it up to look at Naruto.

"I won't be able to share the day with you today, but as soon as I'm finished I will come get you, and we can spend the rest of the time together. How does that sound?"

Hinata nodded and after a final hug left Naruto. As he watched her walk away he scratched the back of his head.

'I hope she isn't too angry…DAMMIT! I hate it when she's upset… Oh well, I better get this over with.'

Naruto made his way across Konoha until he got to the edge of the village. This was where the natural hot springs bubbled up from the ground and pooled together to create Konoha's luxurious hot baths. I didn't take long for Naruto to find the man he was looking for, after all he only needed to follow the yells and shouts of the women in the hot springs.

When he landed in a tree near the front of one of the buildings he watched as an older man with long white hair and red markings on his face run out of the entrance with a dozen Kunoichi chasing him shouting bloody murder. The whole scene made Naruto giggle from nostalgia.

'Ero-Sennin, you never change…'

Naruto waited for Jiraiya to finish play possum and let the women "beat" him senseless. After they all left he got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes, but he was able to sense someone watching him.

"You know, it isn't very nice to spy on people so why don't you come on out?"

Naruto landed in front of his old sensei laughing, "You sure are calling the kettle black, aren't ya pot?"

Jiraiya recognized the boy immediately but didn't let it show on his face. "And who might you be?"

Naruto's face hardened a little. "It isn't nice to lie, Ero-Sennin. I have tons of stuff to talk to you about and not a whole lot of time to do it."

Naruto stepped forward and placed his left hand on Jiraiya's chest and brought his right hand up in a one handed ram seal _(index and middle finger are pointed straight up with the thumb over the ring and pinky fingers)._

All Jiraiya was able to get out was "What the…" before the pair disappeared in a flash of yellow. They reappeared in one of the training grounds outside of the village, though the landing was rough. Naruto flew head first into a tree while Jiraiya fell to the ground on his butt. Jiraiya stared wide-eyed as he realized that this Genin had just used the _Hiraishin no Jutsu_, though it was clear that he still had to work on the reappearing part of the jutsu.

When Naruto was finished rubbing his now-bruised head he made his way towards his old sensei, who was still staring at the kid.

"H-H-How did you just do that!" Jiraiya yelled as he pointed a finger at the approaching blonde.

"What? You think my dad was the only one who was able to do that? I do admit that I still haven't really gotten it down flat, but I think that it has something to do with the seals themselves. Maybe I didn't draw them right?" Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head nervously as Jiraiya's mouth fell open. "Oh well, I guess that takes care of introductions then, though you probably knew who I was just from seeing my face…"

It took a few minutes for Jiraiya to collect himself. "Kid, you have a LOT of explaining to do, and don't even think about lying to me!" Jiraiya now had a very serious face on, one that Naruto had only seen a handful of times.

A large grin spilled over Naruto's face. "Don't worry Ero-Sennin. You were the first person I was PLANNING on telling, but a certain one-eyed man ruined that one."

Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow. "Tell me what?"

Over the next hour Naruto retold his story, leaving out no detail. Jiraiya's expression turned very gloomy when Naruto got to his battle with Pain/Nagato, though he looked happy when Naruto was able to turn Nagato from Akatsuki. When Naruto got to the fourth shinobi war and the Juubi, Jiraiya was at a loss for words, and didn't ask any questions. He wasn't sure how to take the news of the end of the world, who would? He became interested again when Naruto got to the jutsu he used to rip the fabric of time, allowing him to rewrite history. He was also excited to hear about Naruto's training in Ninjutsu Kekki Genkai manipulation and Fuinjutsu.

When Naruto ended his recounting of events, Jiraiya took a few minutes and thought about what he was told. "So to recount, you are a Sage, you have full control of Kyuubi's chakra, and you can use every elemental jutsu including all elemental Kekkei Genkai?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Yup! Oh, and his name is Kurama. Calling him Kyuubi is degrading."

Jiraiya suddenly burst into tears laughing. "Wow kid that is some tale! I couldn't write a book with that much creativity. Especially when you got to that huge "Shinobi Alliance", that was just rich! HAHAHAHA"

Naruto became furious and with an enormous surge of chakra silenced the old man in front of him. Naruto punched Jiraiya in the gut, launching him into a tree and causing the old pervert to see stars. When Jiraiya finally got over the shock and looked up he saw Naruto with a very angry and serious look in his blue eyes.

Naruto disappeared from Jiraiya's vision and reappeared in front of him gripping his red vest.

"YOU THINK I WOULD LIE!? YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS LIKE!?" Tears began to fall down Naruto's eyes. "I WAS PINNED DOWN AND HAD TO WATCH THE END OF THE WORLD! OBITO KILLED EVERYONE, EVERYONE CLOSE TO ME! EVERYONE THAT I EVER LOVED… they all…" Naruto dropped to his knees on the ground with tears flowing out of his eyes while Jiraiya patted him on the back.

"Sorry Naruto, you're right. It was cruel for me to not believe you."

Naruto stood up and wiped his eyes. "It's ok Ero-Sennin. Sorry about that, it's just that I haven't really been able to talk to anyone about what happened, and everything just kinda came out at once."

"No need to apologize. But I want to see it."

Naruto looked up with a confused look. "See what?"

Jiraiya smiled. "Your Sennin Mode"

Naruto nodded and took in a deep breath as he seated himself cross-legged on the soft ground in the secluded woods they were in. He then brought his hands together and closed his eyes. Jiraiya did the same wanting to compare the two.

'The calm I feel around him, he is as still as can be. I can feel the natural chakra he is taking in, and he is doing it perfectly. Did he really master Senjutsu better than me? How much of a genius is this kid?'

Naruto opened his yellow eyes, the orange shading around them now complete. His sensei opened his own as well. Jiraiya couldn't have been more surprised at the results.

"You have the eyes that prove the transformation is complete, and you don't have any signs of becoming a frog at all! You have truly mastered Senjutsu, but let's put it to the test. Since we are all the way out here, we shouldn't have to worry about any collateral damage. Besides, it's been a while since I've been in a serious fight."

Jiraiya's face was slightly transformed into the likeness of a frog, showing that he had not perfected sage mode, but that did not stop him from taking Naruto on with everything he had.

Despite Naruto's superior Senjutsu, Jiraiya's years' experience helped him stay evenly matched with Naruto for most of the fight. Due to the limited time of sage mode, the shading faded from both their eyes, leaving two exhausted shinobi sitting on the ground panting. Each had more than a few bruises after their struggle, and Jiraiya had earned a new-found respect for Naruto. In order to prevent extreme exhaustion, Naruto refrained from using any of his new jutsu, namely the elemental Kekkei Genkais.

"That was great Naruto! I'm surprised that you were able to keep it up for so long, though I thought you would have been a bit faster."

Naruto grinned as he pulled up the sleeves on his shirt, revealing long seals on both his arms. Jiraiya turned pale at the sight; he knew exactly what they were.

"H-How much?" Jiraiya sputtered as he pointed at his arms.

"Somewhere on the lines of thirty times on my arms and legs. I'll tell you though, these gravity seals are really dangerous. If it was a normal shinobi their bodies probably couldn't handle anything more than two or three times normal gravity, their bodies just can't take it. Anyone else and their tendons and muscles would rip and their bones would shatter. It also took a while for me to get my blood vessels strong enough to pump blood against the gravity. If it wasn't for Kurama healing all the damage to my bones and joints along with me reinforcing my entire body with chakra, I wouldn't be alive right now."

Jiraiya started laughing. "And here I thought I was a challenge for you! If you had lost a few of those G's I would have been face down in the dirt! HAHAHAHAHA!" Jiraiya wiped a tear from his eye still chuckling. "So Naruto, why did you decided to tell me all this? Besides the fact I WAS your sensei, I don't see a reason for you to come to me. I can't really teach you anything."

Naruto smiled. "Well, mostly I just wanted to reconnect with one of the only father-figures I've ever had. But since you're offering… I guess you can help me with my chakra control. Whenever I use the Kekkei Genkai jutsu it sucks huge amounts of my chakra up, so they aren't really helpful in battle. I need a way to use less chakra with the jutsu, but I just can't think of anything. Kurama says that I just need practice but I thought I could at least ask you about it first."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Hmmmm, I think I might have something that COULD help, Jiraiya began stroking his chin. "Well, now that you mention it, I think I might have something that could help. Ever heard of the _Fuinjutsu: Chakra Kurenjingushiru (Chakra Cleansing Seal)_?"

Naruto shook his head so Jiraiya continued.

"Well basically, there are five variations of this Fuuin, one for each element. The drawings for each are the exact same, with exception of the kanji in the middle, which is the kanji for that specific element. They have to be unique because each acts as the chakra purifier for that element; for example, the one with the Fire kanji in the middle would purify your chakra so you can execute Katon jutsus with ease. There's a drawback using this, however. The purification process isn't as efficient as the real thing. So, when you perform a jutsu through this Fuuin, you would have to use more chakra than someone who already has an affinity for that element, though I doubt that would present much of a problem to someone such as yourself with larger chakra reserves than anyone alive."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "GREAT! When can we start!"

Jiraiya closed his eyes and held up his hands. "Hold up there. You know I don't do anything for free. I want you to show me something before we begin."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he thought back to his very first encounter with the old man. "NO! I won't do my sexy jutsu for you… lecherous old pervert…"

Jiraiya's face became red with anger. "HEY! I wasn't going to ask that! I just want to see your Kyuubi mode! I want to see what it's like when someone has complete control of the strongest of the Biju. Show me your full strength, I'm curious how I would measure up."

Naruto's eyes got wide. "Are you idiotic!? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? I should just paint a huge target on my back. Everyone will be able to feel Kurama's chakra and I don't really want to spend several weeks trying to prove that I'm not a threat to Konoha!"

Jiraiya crossed his arms across his chest and turned his head away from Naruto. "Well then, I guess you really don't need my help then. Have fun not being able to use any of your 'special' jutsus for very long!"

Naruto was about to retort in anger but was stopped by Kurama.

**'IDIOT! Here you have a chance to learn a way to perform the strongest jutsus in the entire world and you are hesitant cause people might feel a bit of chakra? I didn't think you spent so much time in the library to get this stupid!'**

Naruto's face still looked angry when he replied to Jiraiya's request.

"I'll do it…"

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, and without warning a primal surge of chakra exploded outwards from Naruto heading in all directions. Naruto had formed the chakra into a perfect resemblance of Kurama.

Jiraiya's breath was caught in his throat, and he found it hard to breath in Naruto's presence. His mouth was open but no words fell from his mouth. Naruto looked down at his old sensei and laughed.

"Don't pass out yet old man, I can still go further!"

Just then another surge of power came from Naruto as he absorbed Senjutsu chakra into his being. The huge chakra fox shone brighter and horizontal bars appeared across Naruto's red slitted eyes.

**_At a Nearby Training Ground_**

Kakashi was training Sasuke in the more subtle applications of the Sharingan, including its uses in detecting and creating different Genjutsus. One thing that also became apparent during the Chunnin exams was that Sasuke hadn't been taking his training as seriously as he should have been, since Sakura was able to almost defeat him in the preliminaries. Now that he had a month of training, he had Kakashi making sure that he was training himself into the ground.

Sasuke and Kakashi were in the middle of a spar when the both felt a surge of chakra stronger than anything they had ever felt before. The presence was almost suffocating, causing Sasuke to fall to one knee to keep himself from collapsing. Just as suddenly as the chakra appeared, it disappeared, leaving a very confused Sasuke, while Kakashi just looked to where it had come from.

'Naruto, what on earth are you doing?'

**_Hokage's Office_**

Sarutobi was taking a break from the mundane tasks that came with the position of Hokage, looking out over his village puffing happily on his pipe. As he turned around about to restart the paperwork, a chakra with a strength he hadn't felt since the Shoadi Hokage was alive swept over the village.

Hiruzen let his pipe fall from his mouth. "This chakra… it's… it's… stronger than Hashirama-sensei's… this is bad, really, really bad…"

The door to the Hokage's office burst open and several ANBU filled in followed by Danzo who was in a panic.

"HIRUZEN! Something's coming, we have to prepare our defenses to-" Danzo stopped mid-sentence as the chakra signature disappeared as soon as it appeared.

Sarutobi turned to Danzo. "Danzo, that was just Jiraiya preparing a jutsu of his. You know how experimental he can be sometimes. He told me earlier to look out for something like this, so just calm down."

Danzo narrowed his eyes at the Hokage, but Hiuzen stared back unflinching. After a few tense moments, Danzo closed his eyes and walked out of the office. After seeing the man hobble away, Hiruzen let out a long sigh and swiveled his chair to look out the window at his village.

'Naruto, just what the hell are you doing?'

**_Back With Naruto and Jiraiya_**

Naruto kept up the transformation for a few more seconds to give Jiraiya a few more seconds to get a clear grasp of Naruto's overwhelming power. He ended the transformation before anyone decided to come snooping and accidentally saw him. It would be much easier to blame a chakra like that on one of the Sannin's experiments gone wrong rather than deal with someone seeing Naruto in his Kyuubi Mode.

As Naruto shrank back to his teenage body and he unconsciously reached out to his surroundings with the chakra leaving his body, he felt a familiar chakra. Naruto's eyes widened when he quickly figured out that it wasn't just the two of them anymore.

'Shit…. Hinata…'

**_Earlier That Morning_**

After Naruto had broken contact with Hinata and left her alone, she felt hurt, and quite angry.

'And just who is this person that Naruto has to meet today!? If he won't tell me up front then I will just follow him and find out myself!'

And follow him she did. After the years of intensive training she had almost full control of her chakra, in part from her bloodline. It was therefore simple for her to completely mask her chakra from everyone, even from Naruto.

On the other hand, she had trained her Byakugan far enough along to see for several kilometers in every direction, so she was able to track Naruto easily. She found him outside of the bathhouses, a place he had never visited before. This just made Hinata angrier, and the only thing that stopped her from confronting her boyfriend was the fact that he looked dead serious and appeared to be waiting for something to happen.

She didn't have to wait long till she heard screeches and an old man came barreling through the door followed by a horde of Kunoichi, who all proceeded to beat the living daylights out of him. It only took her a few seconds to recognize this man from the lessons at the academy. He was Jiraiya, the Gama Sannin and one of the strongest ninja Konohagakure had ever produced.

Hinata looked back and forth between Naruto and the old man, trying to figure out the connection between the two.

After the Kunoichi were satisfied that they had accomplished their task and all left, Naruto was called out by the toad Sannin, and the two began talking. From what Hinata could tell, it looked like Naruto had known the Sannin from a previous encounter, even though it was clear Jiraiya had never met the boy.

She was even more surprised with Naruto brought his fingers into a one-handed seal and disappeared in a flash of yellow.

Hinata's eyes bugged out of her head. "N-Nani! Where did he go!"

Her Byakugan flared to life again, and a few seconds later she found him again.

'He got to the other side of the village in a matter of seconds!'

She raced to their position as fast as she could, and when she landed in a tree overlooking their position she saw Naruto with a furious look on his face gripping Jiraiya's vest. She listened in as Naruto began yelling about watching the end of the world and having to watch everyone get killed.

She unconsciously started crying lightly, doing her best to keep as quiet as she could. She had no reason to believe Naruto, but the pure emotion in his voice seemed to scream out a pain that no one could possibly imagine.

She continued watching with her Byakugan as the Sannin seemed to challenge Naruto. She was about to interfere until she saw tendrils of chakra make their way into Naruto's system. She watched in fascination as his chakra coils swelled to several times their normal capacity, which was still many times greater than any other shinobi in Konoha. The weirdest part was that the strange chakra was being absorbed from the earth itself, something Hinata had never heard of in all her years of studying at the academy, or even from her private lessons.

When he finished absorbing all the chakra from his surroundings he had orange shading around his eyes. His eyes became a darker yellow with horizontal black bars taking the place of his pupils. Soon Jiraiya too began the same process, though his intake of the strange chakra wasn't as full and Hinata could tell from the different markings on his face that his transformation wasn't as complete as Naruto's.

She watched in amazement as the two began a fight of epic proportions, changing the very landscape of their spar. She retreated to avoid getting accidentally caught up in the fight that had broken out. They were moving faster than any shinobi Hinata had ever seen fight, and she had to strain her Byakugan to keep up with their movements.

'I'm glad I have the Byakugan or else I could never have been able to get close enough to witness this fight! Why did Naruto-kun hide this strength from me?'

She watched every movement the two made as the fight continued on for the next half hour until they were both on the ground panting. Deciding that the fight was over, she slowly made her way back to ear-shot range and listened in amazement as the Sannin began telling her boyfriend of a way to use every type of nature chakra, though Jiraiya demanded some demonstration before he began.

What happened next she couldn't explain. All of a sudden Naruto called forth a chakra that washed over her existence like a tsunami. The chakra began morphing itself into the resemblance of a huge fox, which led her to assume that it was Kurama's chakra when she thought back to Naruto's explanation of his tenant. It felt like a huge mass of warmth spread over her entire being, filling her up with energy just from being in close proximity to it. Over everything else that she was feeling, one thing took precedence; she felt safe. She didn't know why, but she had a gut feeling that with Naruto being this strong no harm would ever befall her or the village.

She soon felt another surge of raw power coming from Naruto, and when she looked at his eyes she saw the same bars in his eyes that he was showing not too much earlier.

She began to notice that the tree she was perched on began reacting to Naruto's chakra. It began to shake, almost trying to forcibly grow itself to better absorb the raw power Naruto was giving off. She looked around and saw all of the plants around Naruto were reacting in the same way. She rested her gaze once again on her boyfriend, and she couldn't help but feel vastly inferior. Here she was, not even able to make it to the finals of the Chunnin exams, and not too far away was her boyfriend who was able to change the very landscape with enough power to make Jiraiya of the Sannin stare in awe.

She was going to head back from the village when she felt Naruto drop his transformation. The sudden change in chakra startled her, disrupting her chakra suppression momentarily. She paled when she heard Naruto's next words.

"Shit… Hinata…"

She turned around and saw Naruto staring up at her with worried eyes.

'He must be upset with me for spying on him… I guess I better get back to the village, he probably doesn't want to see me anymore'

With tears falling from her eyes she began to hurry back to the village, leaving a dazed Naruto.

**_Back with Naruto_**

'Shit… she saw… how much did she see!? Kurama, what am I going to do!?'

**'How should I know? She's YOUR girlfriend not mine! But if you want some advice, you should go after her. The longer she has to think this over the more upset she will be.'**

'Wow Kurama, I didn't know you were a relationship expert.'

**'Did you forget my first two containers were females? I had the… misfortune… of having to watch them both go through relationships that ended on some pretty sour notes, so yes. I think I AM a little of an expert on these sort of things. But you better hurry, she is getting away.'**

Naruto turned to Jiraiya, still a bit stunned from Naruto's previous display. "Sorry Ero-Sennin. I gotta go! I'll find you tomorrow and we can continue where we left off."

Naruto didn't wait for him to even nod before he lowered the gravity seals on his body fully and took off. He moved in the blink of an eye, moving faster than Gai with several of his gates released. It took him less than a minute to reach Hinata, who was just about to enter the village again. Before she was about to reach the gates he caught up to her.

He quickly got behind her and caught her in a tight hug, stopping her from trying to get out of the embrace. He refilled his gravity seals with chakra so that he wouldn't unintentionally squeeze Hinata too hard. After a minute or two she stopped fighting his embrace, and he loosened the hug. She turned around to face him. He could see her swollen eyes, and Naruto felt like scum for being the reason for her crying.

Naruto took a step forward and began hugging her again. "I'm sorry Hina-chan. I'm not sure how much of that you saw or heard, but I should have told you a while back. The only reason I held off is because I didn't know if you would be scared of me when you saw what I was capable of, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing you."

Hinata began crying more, though these tears were from her feeling like an idiot for thinking that Naruto would ever think she was pathetic.

Naruto put his chin on the top of her head and noticed that it was starting to get rather late. "How about this. Let's go back to my apartment so I can cook us something for dinner. After that I will tell you everything from beginning to end and I'll answer any questions you have. Does that sound good?"

Hinata was silent but Naruto could feel her nod her head from under his. He silently took her hand and the two walked into the village. It was a short walk to Naruto's apartment, but the trip seemed abnormally long on account of the silence between the two.

When they reached their destination Naruto made a quick dinner and the two ate in relative silence. Soon enough they were seated on Naruto's couch facing each other.

"Well, I guess I should begin with my name. My real name. I am Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, Gennin of Konohagakure and Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. My father was Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, who was the former host of the Kyuubi."

Naruto then went to explain the details of his birth and of Obito's possession of Kurama in an attempt to destroy Konoha. Hinata began tearing up when he go to the part about how his parents sacrificed themselves to save their newborn son. He then went on to describe his old life, how he grew up with the village's resentment, how he foiled Mizuki's attempt to betray the village, how he fought with Zabuza and Haku. Then he began to retell the events of the Chunnin exams in detail, and Hinata grew a saddened look in her eye when he told her about Sarutobi's funeral. Next he recounted his tales with Jiraiya while trying to get Tsunade to come back to the leaf as the Godaime Hokage. He then told her about Sasuke's abandonment of Konoha and their eventual fight. He tried to spare her the exact details of his injuries, but she teared up none the less. Next he talked about his training trip with Jiraiya and how he felt truly happy with his godfather, but the story began to take a darker turn when he returned to Konoha. He explained the battles with the Akatsuki and Pain, and everyone who sacrificed their lives to fight them, even his sensei Jiraiya didn't survive the Akatsuki. Next came the war against Madara and Obito, though he did tell her of everyone's demise during the war, he spared her most of the gory details.

"This next part will explain how I managed to come back." Naruto took Hinata's hand and brought her out to his balcony.

Naruto turned and looked down into Hinata's eyes. "Do you remember back in the academy when Iruka was telling us about those things out in space called black holes or wormholes?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I do, but what does that have to do with your story?"

Naruto smiled and focused a small amount of chakra in the air around them. "_Jūryoku ketsuro (Gravity Condensation)_"

The air around them instantly became heavier, as if they were breathing through a straw and Hinata's eyes told Naruto that she was scared. Naruto only kept it up for a quick second before he released the jutsu, he didn't want to scare Hinata any more than she already was.

When Hinata calmed down a bit he continued talking. "That was how I came back. I condensed the space around us, and in turn that condensed the air which made it harder for us to breath. That was in a broad area with only a little bit of chakra, but if I focused on a specific point and used a whole lot more chakra, well…"

He then concentrated and a small bubble shimmered into existence in front of Naruto's face. Hinata went to touch it but Naruto gently grabbed her hand.

"You shouldn't do that Hina-hime, if it explodes we would get seriously hurt. Right now this bubble has the compressed air from around my apartment, though I was careful to leave enough for us to breathe easy enough. I'll show you when its released all at once."

Naruto flicked his hand up and the bubble flew towards the sky, and after a few seconds there was a massive shockwave that was released from all the air exploding outwards all at once. Naruto placed his hands under Hinata's chin and lowered her face to look at him.

"I used all my chakra to compress the space in front of me to make it dense enough for it to literally rip time itself, and I threw myself into it, thinking that any other time in history would be better than what I would have faced in my own time. To my eternal thanks to whatever deity exists, I got a second chance to save this world from destruction, not to mention I got to grow up with the most beautiful woman in the entire world… again."

The last part apparently was what Hinata needed to hear, and she threw her hands around Naruto and brought him down to her face where her lips were waiting. Naruto was hesitant for a split second before he put his hands around Hinata's waist and squeezed her closer trying to deepen the kiss.

Naruto wasn't sure which one of them started it, but soon Hinata's tongue made its way into Naruto's mouth, and Naruto was glad that Hinata wasn't upset anymore. They kept up their make-out session for several more minutes until they both cut the contact. Naruto brought her back inside and he lit a small fire in his fireplace, one that he made a long time ago with a simple _Doton _jutsu. They both laid down on his couch cuddling and simply enjoying each other's company.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes until Hinata lifted her head up to look at Naruto's face.

"Tell me, when was it that you began to first fall in love with me? You know, back in the uh, well I guess it would be your past."

Naruto smiled. " It happened soon after I fought the supposed leader of Akatsuki, Pain. He had a Dojutsu known as the Rinnegan, and with that power he was able to split his power into six different bodies. With my mastery of Senjutsu chakra I was able to defeat five of them, but the last of the paths of Pain was far stronger than the rest. With gravity jutsus he was able to slam me into the ground when I lost my Senjutsu chakra. He then shoved chakra poles through both my hands to pin me down, then impaled several more throughout my body to hold me down and force his chakra into my system to control me."

Hinata looked like she was about to cry. "That… That's horrible… Why did so many bad things have to happen to you… What happened after, did he… did he get you?"

Naruto wiped off a tear that was forming on her face. "He would have since he was shoving so much chakra into my system. When I was just about to give up hope, you came to my rescue. You fought Pain with absolutely no hope of winning, and that was when you first told me how you felt about me. I was in too much pain to process it correctly at the time, but later on I was able to realize that I felt just as strongly about you, or at least I wanted to."

Hinata looked happy with his answer, but soon arched an eyebrow. "If I didn't beat him, then who saved you?"

Naruto grinned slightly. "Well, after he hurt you, I got so angry that I tore up half of Konoha to chase the bastard around and beat the hell out of him. No one hurts you Hina-hime, NO one."

Hinata pushed her head further into Naruto's neck with Naruto resting his head on hers. Soon the pair drifted off into a very peaceful sleep.

**_Next Day_**

Naruto awoke with several of his limbs fast asleep due to Hinata's weight on his body. He chuckled slightly before performing a Kawarimi with a large pillow so as to not wake Hinata. He darted out the door to meet Jiraiya to resume their talk from the other day, and to no surprise he found the man once again leering outside of the bath houses.

Naruto stopped a tad short of the establishment as he watched a horde of women storm out and beat the daylights out of the white-haired man.

'This guy really never learns.'

When the beating ended, he made his way to the Sannin.

"Hey there Ero-Sennin, having fun are we?"

Jiraiya stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "For your information I was doing RESEARCH, and stop calling me that!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, tell me more about this _Fuinjutsu: Chakra Kurenjingushiru_."

Jiraiya began walking towards a training ground with Naruto close behind. "I already told you how it works, the tricky part would be getting the seal down. It's usually done on the abdomen, but I don't think that is possible in your current condition."

Naruto snickered. "Are you serious Ero-Sennin? Did you forget EVERYTHING about yesterday? Kurama is a part of me now, so the seal is more or less just for show now. It doesn't really do anything anymore, so I can have this seal overlap Kurama's seal."

Jiraiya smacked his forehead feeling stupid. "Right…"

The two made their way to the training ground in relatively quick time. Most of the trip was Jiraiya asking questions about Naruto's past, and he was deeply moved to find out that his pupil had taken it upon himself to find an end to the cycle of hatred in the shinobi system.

When they reached their destination, they quickly went about setting up security seals so as to prevent any unwanted visitors from stumbling upon them. The entire process took little more than half an hour.

When Jiraiya finished, he went to a flat space of grass and motioned for Naruto to join him.

"Now, I want you to remove your shirt so I can draw the initial seal on your abdomen. When we are finished you will have to first move your chakra to the seal in order to "purify" it so you can use it for the other various elements. From what you told me, it should be similar to how you harness Kurama's chakra so this shouldn't set you back too far in terms of training."

Naruto nodded and did as he was told. An hour later and Naruto had a very complex array painted on his entire front side, stretching from below his navel to just below his neck. Jiraiya was happy that Naruto was versed in Fuinjutsu so he didn't have to explain that the array would condense when he began the process.

When he was finished Jiraiya placed his fingers over each of the kanji that were arranged in a circular pattern around Naruto's original seal for Kurama. "Ready?"

Naruto nodded, and Jiraiya began pumping chakra into the seal. Slowly the array began to emit a glow, and the markings began surrounding Naruto's seal, the ink seemingly being absorbed by the kanji.

Naruto's entire body felt like it was on fire. It was the most pain he had been in since he fought Pain, but he gritted his teeth and held back his screams. The process went on for less than a minute, but for Naruto it felt like an eternity.

After the ordeal was finally finished, Jiraiya stood back up and wiped sweat off his forehead. "Phew, that took more out of me than I thought it would. Oi, you ok kid?"

After the pain subsided Naruto stood up on wobbly legs. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just give me a minute."

'Oi, Kurama. I need you to check my chakra coils for any damaging side effects from the seal.'

**'Right, give me a few seconds… Hmmm… From what I can tell, the whole thing went off perfectly, but you should test it out to see if it works as well as we hoped it would.'**

Naruto mentally nodded. With his right hand he motioned Jiraiya to move a few feet away, and the Sannin was more than a little wary of the boy and so had no objection.

Naruto concentrated his chakra to the seal for a few seconds, and brought his hands together in a flurry of hand seals. "_Yōton: Sokonashi Yōgan Pitto (Lava Release: Bottomless Lava Pit)."_

Naruto spewed a massive amount of lava that covered the entire training area. The viscous material took a few minutes to spread out, and Naruto noticed that the jutsu itself took somewhere on the scale of 15 to 20 times less chakra than normal.

With a huge grin Naruto turned to the Toad Sannin. "Ero-Sennin, it worked… This is incredible…"

Jiraiya sighed and scratched his head. "Well Naruto, tell me. Now that you are probably one of the strongest ninja in the entire world, what are your plans? What is it you want to do?"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya like he was crazy. "What kind of question is that? I'm going to become Hokage of course! Then as Hokage I will bring peace to this world and end the cycle of hatred that rules the shinobi world… And as Hokage I will outlaw all your dirty porno books Ero-Sennin!"

Jiraiya looked apprehensive for a second before he began laughing uncontrollably, with Naruto following his example.

**_Three Weeks Later_**

Naruto walked up the stairs to where the rest of the finalists were waiting for their matches to be called. As Naruto was walking he was listening to the Hokage's speech about how the Chunnin exams created peace and prestige for all shinobi and their villages.

Naruto reached the top just as Hiruzen's speech was drawing to a close, and looked to the other ninja who were in the finalist's box. The three Suna siblings glanced at Naruto and nodded quickly before turning their gaze to the floor of the stadium where the proctor began to make his way to the center.

Naruto saw Neji glaring at him from the back with a large grin on his face. Naruto smiled and flipped Neji the bird for a few seconds before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Sasuke standing behind him.

Sasuke shook his head. "Save it for the match Naruto. Even if HE starts something you could both be disqualified for fighting outside the match rules."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah I guess you're right, I just hope we get to fight each other!"

Haku appeared before the pair. "You're wish has been granted."

Naruto strained his ears and smiled when heard the proctor call out his and Neji's name.

**END**

**Hope you enjoyed this little month before the start of all the action. I look forward to writing each fight, and I am still in the process of "revising" my old chapters, so please be patient with me.**

**Thanks Everyone!**

**Review?**


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